05:24 PM EST, 11/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Manulife Financial ( MFC ) said late Wednesday it signed a $5.4 billion reinsurance agreement with Reinsurance Group of America ( RGA ) .

The deal included reinsuring $2.4 billion of long-term care reserves to RGA. The company said the transaction is accretive to core return on equity, offers 11.4x multiple to core earnings, and will have a "neutral impact" on core earnings per share.

The transaction is expected to release $800 million of capital, which the company intends to return in full to shareholders through common share buybacks.