Summary
MetLife, Inc. (MET) announced a significant transaction on June 19, 2018, involving the exchange of its remaining shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) common stock for a substantial amount of MetLife's own outstanding debt. This move effectively unwinds MetLife's remaining stake in Brighthouse Financial, a company that was spun off previously. The exchange involved 23,155,177 shares of Brighthouse stock and resulted in MetLife receiving and cancelling $943,638,000 in aggregate principal amount of its own debt, alongside $86,764,707 for related items. This transaction represents a key step in MetLife's strategic repositioning by fully divesting its interest in Brighthouse Financial. The debt extinguished includes the 6.817% Senior Notes due 2018, the 7.717% Senior Notes due 2019, and the 4.75% Senior Notes due 2021. For investors, this signifies MetLife's continued focus on its core insurance and retirement businesses, reducing its exposure to the life insurance segment that was separated into Brighthouse. The retirement of this debt also impacts the company's leverage profile and future interest expenses.
Key Highlights
- 1MetLife completed the exchange of its remaining 23,155,177 shares of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) common stock.
- 2The company received $943,638,000 in aggregate principal amount of MetLife indebtedness in exchange for the BHF shares.
- 3An additional $86,764,707 was received, covering premium, expenses, and other related items.
- 4MetLife cancelled $342,503,000 of its 6.817% Senior Notes due 2018.
- 5MetLife cancelled $468,963,000 of its 7.717% Senior Notes due 2019.
- 6MetLife cancelled $132,172,000 of its 4.75% Senior Notes due 2021.
- 7This transaction marks the complete divestiture of MetLife's remaining stake in Brighthouse Financial.