Protective Life Enters Agreement with Great-West to Reinsure Individual Life Insurance and Annuity Business

Protective Life Corporation (Protective), a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary
of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8750, Dai-ichi), announced that it
has reached an agreement under which its subsidiaries, Protective Life
Insurance Company (Protective Life), and Protective Life & Annuity
Insurance Company, will acquire via reinsurance substantially all of
Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company’s (GWL&A) individual life
insurance and annuity business. The business to be transferred, which
has been marketed under the Great-West Financial brand, includes
bank-owned and corporate-owned life insurance, single premium life
insurance, individual annuities, and a portion of Great-West’s closed
block life insurance and annuities. GWL&A will retain a block of
participating policies, which will be administered by Protective.

The transaction represents an estimated capital investment by Protective
of approximately $1.2 billion, subject to adjustment, and will be the
largest acquisition in company history. It will also mark Protective’s
entrance into the executive benefits market.

“This business aligns well with our long-term plans for growth and
scale. The life and annuity business has been a cornerstone of
Protective throughout our history and will continue to be an area of
future growth for the company,” said Richard J. Bielen, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Protective. “Together, Great-West and
Protective bring strength and stability to this transaction with a
shared focus on serving people and doing the right thing – for our
employees, our distributors, and most importantly, our customers. We are
excited about the opportunity to reach new markets and provide valued
protection to even more customers.”

“The combined strength of the businesses built by Great-West and
Protective creates new opportunities for our customers who will now be
very well served by Protective,” said Robert L. Reynolds, Chief
Executive Officer, GWL&A. “Our team is committed to ensuring a seamless
transition to Protective for our customers who will continue to benefit
from the product solutions we’ve developed to meet their needs.”

When closed, this acquisition will be Protective’s 57^th
acquisition and its 50^th life and annuity acquisition. It
will be the fourth transaction completed since Protective became part of
Dai-ichi in 2015. Dai-ichi considers Protective to be its North American
growth platform and continues to aim for further expansion in the
region, through both acquisitions and organic growth in Protective’s
retail sales.

The closing is expected to occur in the first half of 2019, subject to
the receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary
closing conditions. The estimated invested capital and the ceding
commission are subject to adjustment per the contract. The transaction
includes business written by GWL&A, Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance
Company of New York and the U.S. branches of GWL&A’s affiliates, The
Canada Life Assurance Company and The Great-West Life Assurance Company.
GWL&A’s retirement and investment management divisions, Empower
Retirement and Great-West Investments respectively, are not affected by
this transaction.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor to Protective in
connection with the transaction. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is acting
as Protective’s legal counsel.

About Protective Life Corporation

Protective Life Corporation provides financial services through the
production, distribution and administration of insurance and investment
products throughout the U.S. The company traces its roots to the
corporation’s flagship company, Protective Life Insurance Company –
founded in 1907. Throughout its more than 110-year history, Protective’s
growth and success can be largely attributed to its ongoing commitment
to serving people and doing the right thing – for its employees,
distributors, and most importantly, its customers. The company’s home
office is located in Birmingham, Alabama, and its nearly 3,000 employees
are located in offices across the United States. As of September 30,
2018, the Company had assets of approximately $91.8 billion. Protective
Life Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings,
Inc. (TSE:8750). For more information about Protective, please visit www.Protective.com.

About Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company

Established 125 years ago, Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company
administers a total of $602 billion in assets for approximately 9.1
million retirement, insurance and annuity customers, as of Sept. 30, 2018².
The company’s offerings range from investments, life insurance,
annuities and executive benefits products marketed under the Great-West
Financial brand to retirement savings products and services provided by
Empower Retirement, the nation’s second-largest retirement plan record
keeper by participants¹. To learn more, visit greatwest.com.

Great-West Financial^® is a registered mark of Great-West Life
& Annuity Insurance Company. GWL&A is an indirect, wholly owned
subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. and “A Member of the Power
Financial Corporation Group of Companies” ^®.

¹Pensions & Investments April, 2018
²As
of Sept. 30, 2018, includes accounts of Great-West Life & Annuity
Insurance Company and its subsidiaries

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