Clifford Chance (CC) and Linklaters have played lead roles on Royal London's £219m purchase of the Co-operative Banking Group's life insurance business.

The deal is set to see Royal London, the UK's largest mutual life and pensions company, acquire Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) and The Co-operative Asset Management.

The addition of CIS policyholders will increase funds under Royal London's management from roughly £50bn to around £70bn, with its customer base rising 50% to six million. 

CC advised the Co-op, led by insurance partner Hilary Evenett along with partners Andre Duminy (corporate and outsourcing), Nick Mace (tax), Clare Hoxey (pensions) and Imogen Clark (employment). Senior associate Hugo Laing (insurance) also played a significant role. 

Linklaters acted for Royal London, led by corporate insurance partner Victoria Sander, while Pinsent Masons advised CIS's with-profits committee on the protection of policyholders, with life insurance partner Bruno Geiringer taking the lead role.  

Recent media reports have also suggested that the Co-op could be set to receive a £600m offer for its general insurance arm after it announced last week that it is exploring options for a sale.