MetLife (NYSE:MET) shares gained more than 5% on Thursday after the company announced a $19.2 billion reinsurance transaction with Global Atlantic and upped share buyback authorization.
According to the analysts at RBC Capital, MetLife’s sizable reinsurance agreement speeds up the run-off of its MetLife Holdings unit, frees up capital, improves the RBC ratio, and allows for incremental buybacks.
The analysts view the announcement positively and consider this an opportunistic way for the company to reduce its closed block exposure while the timing and environment were right (a few other peers have announced reinsurance transactions in recent weeks).