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Jun
10
Barclays starts negotiations to sell stake in French Life Insurance business
Posted on Jun 10, 2010 by Sergio Ulloa (G+)
Barclays plc has reportedly initiated round table talks over selling half of its French life insurance business, Barclays Vie, according to French Daily La Tribune. The sale price of the 50% stake in Barclays French life insurance division is currently being valued at around EUR 65 million (USD 78 million). A number of European insurers are said to have expressed interest in buying the stake, including: Allianz, Aviva, AXA, Generali, CNP, La Mondiale and Swiss Life. Some observers believe that any deal would be similar in arrangement to Barclays tie-up with CNP in June 2009 over Barclays Vida y Pensiones Compañía de Seguros (BVP), which was Barclays' life insurance operations in Portugal, Italy and Spain. In the previous deal, CNP purchased a 50% stake in BVP for an up front price of EUR 140 million (USD 168 million), with further monetary considerations of up to EUR 450 million (USD 540 million) payable to Barclays over a 12-year period depending on business milestones reached in that time as well as a 25-year agreement to cooperate on marketing and distribution. Insurance Companies Mentioned: Barclays plc
Barclays plc is a large financial services company operating around the globe. They offer a wide variety of services including personal banking, corporate business banking, investment banking and wealth management and private banking. After starting operations more than 300 years ago, Barclays now operates in more than 50 countries, employing over 144,000 people and servicing more than 48 million customers worldwide.
Allianz
Allianz Group is one of the leading global services providers in insurance and asset management. With approximately 153,000 employees worldwide, the Allianz Group serves approximately 75 million customers in about 70 countries. On the insurance side, Allianz is the market leader in the German market and has a strong international presence.
Aviva
Europe's fourth largest insurance company, with more than 300 years of experience in the global insurance industry, Aviva is committed to the safety and satisfaction of its customers. They sell a broad range of insurance products including motor and property insurance, protection and health insurance, business insurance, life insurance and pensions.
AXA
AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Services. Headquartered in Paris, the AXA Group companies are engaged in life insurance, health insurance and asset management services among others. AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area.
CNP Assurances
CNP has more than 150 years of experience in the insurance industry. CNP focuses mainly on pensions, personal risk insurance and savings plans in the personal insurance market through a wide variety of insurance products. They have more than 22 million policyholders, 14 million of which are in France.
Assicurazioni Generali SpA
The Generali Group is one of the most significant participants in the global insurance and financial products market. The Group is a leader in Italy and Assicurazioni Generali, founded in 1831 in Trieste, is the Group's Parent and principal operating Company. Generali is one of the leading global players in the assistance sector thanks to the Europ Assistance Group, active in more than 200 countries with services in the motor, travel, healthcare, home and family sectors. In recent years, the Group has made a significant return to 14 central-eastern European markets and has set up offices in the principal markets of the Far East, including China and India.
AG2R La Mondiale
La Mondiale originally started in Lille, France in 1905, it continued as a life insurance company up until La Mondiale and AG2R decided to merge operations in 2001. The process gradually took place until January 2008, when the two companies created a Mutual Assurance Group Company (MAGC), leaving them as the 8th largest personal insurance group in France.
Swiss Life
The Swiss Life Group is one of Europe's leading providers of life insurance and pension solutions. In Switzerland, France and Germany, the Group offers individuals and corporations comprehensive advice and a broad range of products through its own sales force as well as brokers and banks. Swiss Life provides international corporations with employee benefits solutions from a single source, and is one of the global leaders in structured life and pension products for international high net worth individuals.