After months of rumours,
Aviva has today confirmed that it is offloading its Italian joint venture.
In a statement, the British insurance giant announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its entire shareholding in Avipop Assicurazioni S.p.A, including wholly owned subsidiary Avipop Vita S.p.A, to Banco BPM. The official figure is €265 million, approximately £233 million.
The deal comes after Banco BPM announced its intention to not renew its distribution agreement with Aviva – prompting the insurer to exercise its option to offload its shares in a move that was announced back in August.
The two had formed a bancassurance partnership back in 2007 which included an option for Aviva to sell its shareholding to the bank should the distribution agreement be terminated.
According to the release, the consideration represents 27.1 times Aviva’s share of 2016 earnings after tax and 1.1 times Aviva’s share of the IFRS net asset value of the business. The transaction also increases Solvency II capital by approximately £0.2 billion.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in 2018 with Aviva’s other Italian operations unaffected.
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