Steel products giant Delta has sold off its pension liabilities at a cost of £450m.
The majority of the pensioner liabilities of the Delta Pension Plan, sponsored by Delta plc, will now be insured by the Pension Insurance Corporation.
Consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). which acted as an adviser on the huge deal, this morning unveiled the deal.
PwC said it was the second biggest pension buyout deal ever – behind the £820m buyout of shipping giant P&O’s pension scheme by pensions insurance specialist Paternoster.
The Delta deal is said to be unique in that the employer retains a proportion – albeit small – of the liabilities.
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A report last month by actuary Lane, Clark and Peacock said that 10 firms listed on the FTSE 100 were actively considering pension buyouts as the credit crunch made passing off retirement liabilities ever more attractive.
Delta is listed on the UK stock exchange and employs more than 2,500 people worldwide.
