A.M. Best Affirms ReliaStar, ING-US Ratings Following Announced Acquisition by ING.Business Editors OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2000 A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the A+ (Superior) financial strength ratings of ReliaStar Life Insurance Co. and its operating life and health insurance affiliates, Northern Life Insurance Co. and ReliaStar Life Insurance Co. of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . The A (Excellent) financial strength rating of Security-Connecticut Life Insurance Co., a ReliaStar Life affiliate, was also affirmed. The actions follow the announcement by the ING Group ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING, Euronext: INGA) (known as ING Group) is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ING once stood for Internationale Nederlanden Groep. that they have reached a definitive agreement to acquire ReliaStar Life's publicly traded parent, ReliaStar Financial Corp., for $5.1 billion in cash. Under the agreement, ING also will assume approximately $1 billion in debt and outstanding trust preferred securities issued by ReliaStar Financial, bringing the total consideration for the deal to $6.1 billion. The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of both ING and ReliaStar Financial, is expected to close in the third quarter 2000. A.M. Best views the transaction favorably as it is consistent with ING's strategy to become a leader in the U.S. domestic life insurance and asset management businesses with ReliaStar Financial providing a good complement to ING's existing U.S. business in the retirement services markets. Reliastar Financial's integrated operations and education-based sales distribution model offer an attractive platform for product expansion as well as additional cross-selling opportunities for both companies in the U.S. market. ReliaStar Financial also provides ING with significant work-site marketing capabilities and increased access to the 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity Tax-sheltered annuity A type of retirement plan under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code that permits employees of public educational organizations or tax-exempt organizations to make before-tax contributions via a salary reduction agreement to a tax-sheltered retirement market. ReliaStar Financial's 401(k) corporate pension and growing asset management activities -- most notably through its recent acquisition of Pilgrim Capital Corp. -- are also strategically important to ING's U.S. operations as they provide additional scale and performance track records in these highly competitive businesses. ReliaStar Financial is an insurance and financial-services holding company based in Minneapolis, with assets under management Assets Under Management (AUM) is a term used by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they are managing. in excess of $35 billion and consolidated GAAP GAAP See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). revenues of $3.1 billion as of year-end 1999. In addition to its insurance subsidiaries, ReliaStar Financial has developed important non-insurance operating subsidiaries that market a variety of complementary financial products and services including mutual funds, depository The place where a deposit is placed and kept, e.g., a bank, savings and loan institution, credit union, or trust company. A place where something is deposited or stored as for safekeeping or convenience, e.g., a safety deposit box. and consumer credit products and personal finance education. The ING Group is a diversified financial-service organization based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. ING's operations are one of the largest providers of integrated financial products worldwide with total assets of nearly $500 billion. The group offers a comprehensive range of life and non-life insurance, commercial and investment banking, asset management and related products and services in Europe, North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , Africa, Asia, and Australia. The A+ (Superior) financial strength ratings of the following ING North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. life/health affiliates are affirmed: -- Equitable Life Equitable Life may refer to:
-- First Golden American Life Insurance Company of New York -- First ING Life Insurance Company of New York -- Golden American Life Insurance Co. -- Life Insurance Company of Georgia -- Security Life of Denver Insurance Co. -- Southland Life Insurance Co. -- USG (UNIX Systems Group) The division within Novell that was responsible for UnixWare. See USL. Annuity & Life Co. The A (Excellent) financial strength ratings of the following ING North American life/health affiliates are affirmed: -- Ameribest Life Insurance Co. -- Midwestern United Life Insurance Co. -- United Life & Annuity Insurance Co. A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at www.ambest.com. |
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