ING buys Club Life for $15 million

Tuesday 16th December 2003

The directors of Hellaby Holdings today notified the Stock Exchange that the company had entered into agreements which would, subject to the approval of the shareholders of Club Life Holdings, see ING (NZ) Limited acquire Hellaby's life insurance subsidiary Club Life.

David Houldsworth, Managing Director of Hellaby Holdings, noted that all shareholders in Club Life would be treated equally. Further, the minority shareholders in Club Life would be offered the opportunity to re-invest the proceeds of the sale of their shares back into the business. This would enable those investors to participate in the continued growth of the company, which the directors of Club Life believe will occur under ING ownership.

Houldsworth further noted that Hellaby was pleased to have been associated with Club Life during its start-up phase and was proud of the substantial growth the company had achieved over the past two years. However, a rapidly growing life insurance business requires significant ongoing capital injections and this is inconsistent with Hellaby's current philosophy of investing in businesses that generate positive cash flows.

ING is one of the world's largest, investment, banking and insurance companies and Hellaby believes that Club Life will benefit significantly from an association with a company that has a long-term commitment to the life insurance industry. The sale of its shareholding in Club Life and the repayment of associated loans will generate cash of $11.5 million to Hellaby Holdings but should have no material impact on the group's current year earnings.

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