Ireland reopens sale talks on state-owned Irish Life - report

Ireland has re-opened talks on the sale of state-owned insurance firm Irish Life to Canada Life, a unit of Canadian life insurer Great-West Lifeco , the Sunday Business Post reported.

Irish Life, formerly the life insurance arm of bailed out Irish Life & Permanent (IL&P), was taken over by the state this year after a ramping up of the euro zone debt crisis forced the suspension of its sale a year ago.

Canada Life had previously been the lead candidate to buy the business, a source told Reuters last year, and the Sunday Business Post said the company was engaged again in discussion with Ireland's finance department, although no fresh proposal had been made.

A spokesman for the department of finance said the department had not received a formal proposal for the sale of Irish Life. A spokesman for Irish Life said the company would not comment on the report.
Executives at Irish Life said in September that the company would need a period of sustained calm in the euro zone before the sale process would resume.

Ireland's government, which had already poured 2.7 billion euros into IL&P to recapitalize its banking division, forked out 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for Irish Life. ($1 = 0.7689 euros)