Irvine-based life insurance servicer NorthStar Life Services LLC has been acquired by a bank in Germany on undisclosed terms.
Mainz-based North Channel Bank GmbH & Co. said the deal is expected to strengthen its foothold in the life-settlement industry, a secondary market in which life insurance policies are bought and sold as an investment asset class.
No changes are expected for NorthStar’s local operations and management.
It has 25 employees at its sole location in Irvine and caters to institutional investors globally. It currently services a portfolio of life insurance policies that combine for a face value of about $6 billion.
It also provides other services, including portfolio advisory and due diligence for deals.
It was a servicing division of Pacifica Group LLC, a subsidiary of KBC Bank in Belgium, until a 2009 spinoff managed by Ward Bukofsky, NorthStar’s current chief executive.
North Channel Bank also is a result of a restructuring effort in recent years. It operated as a private bank called Bankhaus Oswald Kruber GmbH & Co. until investors with a focus on the life-settlement sector acquired it in 2009.
