GWO expands in Ireland

Article Excerpt

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $34.15 (Toronto symbol GWO; shares outstanding: 998.6 million; Market cap: $33.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.5%; www.greatwestlifeco.com) will now purchase an undisclosed stake in the Irish operations of Invesco Ltd. (New York symbol IVZ). That business manages the pension plans of 275 large corporations in Ireland and over 500 smaller companies. Great-West has yet to reveal how much it will pay for the stake in Invesco (Ireland), but it expects to complete the transaction in the third quarter of 2018. The company has used acquisitions to build up its Irish operations in the past few years. Recent purchases in that country include Aviva Health and the 51% of GloHealth that Great-West didn’t already own. Acquisitions are always uncertain, and often take longer to pay off than expected. That adds a lot of risk. Great-West Lifeco is still a hold. hold…