Athora to buy Generali Belgium
Athora Holding is to acquire Generali Belgium, the Belgium-based subsidiary of international insurance group Assicurazioni Generali, for approximately €540 million in cash.
Generali Belgium provides a broad set of insurance solutions to retail and corporate clients through a network of over 1,000 independent brokers. The company serves the Belgian market with a product set that includes single and recurring premium savings; pension and unit-linked life products; motor, homeowners and renters non-life coverage.
Generali Belgium had total gross written premiums of over €640 million in 2017, and total assets of €5.3 billion. According to Athora the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals.
The acquisition of Generali Belgium is Athora’s first purchase of a non-life business, but builds on the non-life track record of Athora’s strategic partner and investor, Apollo Global Management. Apollo’s current non-life investments include Tranquilidade (Portugal), Amissima (Italy), and Catalina Holdings (Americas and Europe).
“Since our successful capital raise in April 2017, we have been rapidly expanding our presence in Europe,” said Michele Bareggi, Group Managing Partner at Athora. “In addition to launching our business with the acquisitions of Delta Lloyd Lebensversicherung in 2015 and Aegon Ireland earlier this month, this transaction is another major step toward our goal of becoming the premier European insurance consolidator and life reinsurance partner. Belgium is a target market for Athora, where we plan to deploy substantial capital over the next few years, and Generali Belgium is a perfect fit for our strategy and growth plans in the country.”
In April 2017, Athora received binding subscriptions through a private placement of common equity securities. The offering involved subscriptions representing approximately €2.2 billion from global institutional investors and is intended to support its existing business lines and capital and reinsurance transactions in the European insurance market.
Athora said that by acquiring Generali Belgium it will acquire a platform for consolidation in Belgium whilst focusing on the development of the company’s retail life and non-life business lines, and the aggregation of traditional life books.
Bareggi continued: “We see tremendous opportunities within Belgium to assist insurers in addressing challenges in their businesses through our share capital and reinsurance solutions.”
