Canada Life International Re Ltd., a subsidiary of Winnipeg-based Great-West Lifeco Inc., has assumed $13.2 billion in annuities in the U.K.

The company has signed a deal with Standard Life Assurance Ltd., to reinsure a large block of U.K. payout annuities.

“It’s a reinsurance transaction,” said Bill Acton, president and COO of the firm’s European operations, during an afternoon conference call. “We have a reinsurance treaty where we have agreed to reimburse Standard Life for all of their future payout annuity requirements for the agreed block of business. In exchange they’ve given us a portfolio of assets roughly $13 billion in size.”

The company noted that the transaction will be accretive to earnings in 2008 and in subsequent years.

“From an earnings point of view, typically on these the assets which get transferred are of very high quality,” added Acton. “The earnings margin in this case is 30 basis points and over time we will yield enhance that and get it up to our usual profitability standards, which are somewhere in the pre-tax 60-80 basis point range.”