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* Selling unit to Skandia Liv for 22.5 bln SEK
* Sale comes at loss as Old Mutual bought units for $6 bln
* Old Mutual says sale will help it cut debt
* Shares rise 10 percent
By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Patrick Lannin
LONDON/STOCKHOLM, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Insurer Old
Mutual is selling its non-core Nordic business
for 22.5 billion Swedish crowns ($3.2 billion) to Skandia Liv,
sending its shares up 10 percent on expectations the deal will
boost investor returns.
The businesses being sold comprise Old Mutual’s long-term
savings and banking operations in Denmark, Norway and Sweden
operating under the Skandia brand, and Old Mutual hopes the sale
will cut debt and enable it to return capital to shareholders.
Old Mutual, which bought the Skandia businesses for around
$6 billion towards the end of 2005, has come under pressure from
shareholders to divest non-core assets to improve returns.
Continued…
