17th Mar 2008 16:33
Morgan Crucible Co PLC17 March 2008 The Morgan Crucible Company plc announces a c£160m buy-out deal between theTrustees of its UK pension schemes and Lucida plc, a FSA regulated insurancecompany. Following a rigorous selection process, the Trustees of both UK pension schemes(the Morgan Pension Scheme and the Morgan Group Senior Staff Pension and LifeAssurance Scheme) have agreed to secure the current pensioner liabilities withLucida plc an insurance company regulated by the UK's Financial ServicesAuthority. An important part of the process was maintaining the security andservice standards for the scheme members which Morgan believes has been achievedby the selection of Lucida. The Lucida annuity policies in respect of theseliabilities will be issued in the Trustees' name, and will be investments of theTrustees. The price of the annuity policies is c.£160m. In addition Morgan will be makinga one-off contribution of c. £4m to the schemes to facilitate the transaction.Using consistent assumptions, Morgan's UK net IAS 19 balance sheet position(£2.5m obligation at the year end 2007) will improve by c£7m as a result of thisrisk transfer with a corresponding effect on the overall Group net IAS 19balance sheet obligation which was c£48m at the 2007 financial year end The deal secures the pensions of Morgan's c. 3,000 current UK pensioners. Morgancontinues to offer its defined benefit pension schemes to its current employeesand deferred pensioners. Commenting, Kevin Dangerfield, Chief Financial Officer, said: "Having workedclosely with the Trustees throughout this process, Morgan is very pleased withthe outcome of this important transaction. This enhances the security of our UKpension schemes whilst transferring a substantial amount of the longevity andinvestment risk to Lucida as the insurer". Morgan was advised on the transaction by Lane Clark & Peacock LLP. Enquiries: Victoria Gould, The Morgan Crucible Company plc 01753 837 237 Robin Walker, Finsbury Group 020 7251 3801Clare Strange This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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