According to three people who spoke to Reuters, Brookfield (BN.TO), through its unit Brookfield Reinsurance (BNRE.N), is considering joining Britain’s expanding pension insurance market and is open to an acquisition to spur expansion.  According to two sources, the company is looking for prospective acquisitions to enter the bulk annuities industry. Prospective targets might include Just Group (JUSTJ.L) and Pension Insurance Corporation.

Bulk annuities are insurance in which the obligations of a company’s pension plan are transferred to an insurer. The sources, who spoke anonymously, warned that discussions are in their early stages, and there is no guarantee that Brookfield will follow forward with the relocation or a deal.

In 2021, Brookfield separated its reinsurance division into a separate publicly traded company. However, the division hires its old parent to provide administrative and managerial services. As part of the services agreement, Brookfield invests assets created by Brookfield Reinsurance in North America. Just Group, Pension Insurance Corporation, and Brookfield all declined to comment.

The action fits with a larger trend: deal houses have recently entered the life insurance and annuities business to pursue long-term cash to invest, including Brookfield and Apollo Global Management (APO.N).

According to a McKinsey & Co. early 2022 estimate, private investors manage over $900 billion in life and annuity assets in Western Europe and North America. An agreement in the UK would be Brookfield’s reinsurance arm’s first venture outside of North America. According to one of the sources, Shashank Bhalla, a former investment banker, was hired this year to lead reinsurance operations in Europe.

According to data from broker Aon, bulk annuities have become more popular among pension plan trustees in the UK, with close to 30 billion pounds ($36.64 billion) in pension obligations shifted to the insurance sector last year.

Existing competitors include Just Group, Pension Insurance Corporation, Legal & General, Phoenix Group, Rothesay Life, and Aviva (AV.L). This year, M&G (MNG.L) returned to the market.

Concerned about the bulk annuities market’s rapid expansion, the Bank of England has warned insurers not to “over-indulge in new business in the short run.” With 1.3 trillion pounds in defined benefit pension plans in the UK private sector at the end of September 2022, Britain is a sizable market for Brookfield.