A carrier has found a willing buyer for a block of COLI business. What basis is used to calculate the carrier's gain on sale of the block?

How could a sale price have been set without knowing this? Or am I not understanding the question especially the term "basis" as you use it ?

I would have thought that in order to establish the sale price, basis (as in costs) would have had to be calculated first. Gain on sale would be the amount received over basis minus the costs of doing the transaction etc. Basis (as in costs) should be already on the "books" since this block has been an asset for some time. How else could they have been carrying the block ?

Is this a tax question or an accounting question?