Royal Bank of Canada To Buy Liberty Insurance Units

South Carolina’s Liberty Corp. announced that it plans to sell its insurance units, which include Liberty Life Co. and Liberty Insurance Services Corp., to Toronto based Royal Bank of Canada for a reported $650 million.

The move confirms Liberty’s intention to concentrate exclusively on its Cosmos Broadcasting TV station operations . Concurrent with the Royal Bank announcement Liberty also said it plans to buy Civic Communications for $204 billion.

Royal Bank’s acquisition of Liberty’s insurance units is one of the more recent instances of the effect of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which has made it possible for banks to own and operate insurance companies in the U.S. for the first time since 1933.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Canada