The UK insurer Legal & General has completed its first pensions deal in the US by acquiring the closed company pension fund of the US subsidiary of electronic group Royal Philips – a move welcomed by one analyst as a strategically important “proof of concept”.

L&G, which announced the deal in a statement on October 2, is acquiring a $450 million chunk of Philips' US pension fund, while the US insurer Prudential Financial is taking another $450 million. The two will then each be responsible for paying pensions to about 7,000 Philips pensioners.