DLA Piper advises on GBP870 million De Beers pension scheme buy-in

DLA Piper has supported PIC, the specialist insurer of defined benefit pension schemes, on the completion of a GBP870 million full buy-in of the De Beers UK Pension Scheme. This significant, de-risking transaction increases security for the benefits of some 473 deferred members, and 1464 current pensioners.

De Beers Group is one of the world’s leading diamond companies spanning exploration, mining, grading, marketing, and retail. In collaboration with its joint venture partners it employs over 20,000 people across the world.

Amrit Mclean, Head of DLA Piper’s dedicated Pensions De-risking team, led a team comprising legal directors Rozet Shah, Eve Wallace, Elmer Doonan and Michael Dando, senior associate Oritsema Ejuoneatse and associate Lucy Staves on the matter, which utilised the Buyer’s Report service, a unique approach to due diligence in pensions residual risk analysis.

Amrit Mclean comments: “Congratulations to PIC and the Trustee on the completion of this significant buy-in and to our De-risking team on the timely delivery of another successful Buyers’ Report. It’s great to see the DLA Piper Buyer’s Report once again delivering an efficient and effective solution for due diligence in this busy market, in which the DLA Piper team supported on GBP17 billion of the GBP 49 billion market transactions completed in 2023.”