RSA Continues Sale of Int’l. Life Units

The U.K.’s Royal & Sun Alliance continued the planned sell off of its life insurance subsidiaries with the announcement that it has agreed to sell its International Financial Services Ltd. unit, which is based in the Isle of Man, and its Luxembourg-based asset management subsidiary, to Friends Provident Life & Pensions Ltd. for £ 133 million ($195 million) in cash.

The sale is part of the company’s strategy to concentrate on its property/ casualty business in the U.K., the U.S. and Europe. R&SA is also reported to be negotiating for the sale of its Australian and New Zealand life and asset management subsidiaries, which could be worth over $500 million.

The company, badly hit by the Sept. 11 attacks, the increase in asbestos related claims, and a series of floods in the UK and Europe needs to rebuild its capital base. It hopes to raise as much as £800 million ($1.17 billion) through the sale of various assets.