Lincoln National Corp. said Monday that it had closed its purchase of the Greensboro, N.C., insurance concern Jefferson-Pilot Corp. The merger agreement was announced in October.
The post-merger company will operate under the brand name Lincoln Financial Group and will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as "LNC," Lincoln said. The deal will let it broaden its mix of fixed and variable universal life policies; index annuities; variable annuities; 401(k) and 403(b) plans; and group life, disability, and dental insurance plans.
In October, Lincoln said it expected the purchase to produce about $180 million of annual, pretax cost savings by October 2008. The deal would also help diversify its earnings base, Lincoln said.
Greensboro is to be the center of life insurance operations for the combined company, Lincoln said, and Fort Wayne, Ind., will be the headquarters for annuity operations. The corporate headquarters will remain in Philadelphia.
