Allstate to sell life insurance business for $600M

(Reuters) — Home and auto insurer Allstate Corp. will sell its Lincoln Benefit Life Co. to Resolution Life Holdings Inc. for $600 million, becoming the latest insurer to sell its life and annuity businesses in the low interest-rate environment.

The deal follows AXA S.A.'s sale of its U.S. life insurance unit to Protective Life Corp. in April and Sun Life Financial Inc.'s sale of its variable annuity business to Delaware Life Holdings in December.

Reuters reported last month that British financial services firm Resolution Group was in the race to buy the Allstate unit for about $500 million to $900 million.

The deal will generate cash proceeds of about $785 million, including tax benefits, Allstate said in a statement on Wednesday.

The deal will result in a statutory gain of $350 million to $400 million and increase Allstate's deployable capital by about $1 billion.