Insurance company Just Group has completed a buy-in worth £61.8m with a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme sponsored by Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS).
The deal secures the benefits of more than 700 pensioners and deferred members of the SAS Section of the Scandinavian Airlines System (Investments) Limited Pension and Assurance Scheme.
The transaction comes as SAS is undergoing a restructuring following its acquisition by Air France-KLM. The airline declared bankruptcy in 2023, and was subsequently bought by a combination of two private equity firms, the Danish government, and Air France-KLM. The latter is in the process of buying out the stakes from the private equity companies to gain majority control.
Declan Keohane, partner and head of risk transfer at First Actuarial, which advised on the deal, said: “We’ve been working closely with the trustees to improve the outlook of the scheme for several years. The trustees were looking for a buy-in, so we all worked around the affordability challenges of the sponsor, an airline that was undergoing a restructuring of its operations and finances.
“The situation called for an agile approach, with iterative negotiations and flexible processes, to secure the benefits for all members without requiring further cash from the sponsor.”
Bincy Paramanathan, risk transfer consultant and project manager at First Actuarial, praised the constructive and flexible approaches from all parties, adding that the trustees “were responsive at all times and never shied away from asking challenging questions”.
Osborne Clarke and Wedlake Bell were legal advisers on the transaction.
