Aviva sells its remaining Spanish businesses

RNS Number : 7542F

Aviva PLC

23 February 2018

 

23 February 2018

Aviva sells its remaining Spanish businesses

Aviva plc ("Aviva") announces the sale of its entire shareholding in life insurance and pensions joint ventures Cajamurcia Vida and Caja Granada Vida to Bankia, for a total consideration of €202 million (£178 million).

The consideration represents 2.1 times Aviva's share of the IFRS net asset value and 22.5 times Aviva's share of earnings after tax of these businesses. The transaction will result in an increase of approximately £150 million in Aviva's Solvency II capital surplus.

Following the restructuring of the Spanish banking system, which started in 2010, and the subsequent consolidation among Aviva's banking partners, Aviva has taken steps to protect the value of its distribution agreements in Spain. Aviva sold its shareholdings in its joint ventures with Bankia in 2012 and Novacaixagalicia Grupo in 2014, and in 2017 it sold the majority of its remaining business to Santalucía. Together with the sale announced today, the combined proceeds amount to €1.6 billion (£1.3 billion).

The transaction is subject to regulatory and anti-trust approvals and is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2018.

Following completion of the transaction, Aviva will retain a stake in a small life insurance operation, Pelayo Vida, and a residual support centre in Spain.

Mark Wilson, Group Chief Executive Officer, Aviva, said:

"This sale is a strong return for our shareholders. It means that over the past five years we have generated proceeds of £1.3 billion from selling almost all of our Spanish operations. The transaction further simplifies Aviva, strengthens our already healthy capital position and is another example of our focus on attractive, growing markets where we have high quality franchises."

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Enquiries:

Media:

Yasmin Saleh                                                                                     [phone]

Analysts:

Chris Esson                                                                                                        [phone]

Diane Michelberger                                                                                       [phone]

Notes to editors:

·     Aviva provides life insurance, general insurance, health insurance and asset management to 33 million customers.

·     In the UK we are the leading insurer serving one in every four households and have strong businesses in selected markets in Europe, Asia and Canada. Our shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and we are a member of the FTSE100 index.  

·     Aviva's asset management business, Aviva Investors, provides asset management services to both Aviva and external clients, and currently manages over £350 billion in assets. Total group assets under management at Aviva group are £475 billion.

·     Aviva helps people save for the future and manage the risks of everyday life; we paid out £34.4 billion in benefits and claims in 2016.

·     By serving our customers well, we are building a business which is strong and sustainable, which our people are proud to work for, and which makes a positive contribution to society.

·     The Aviva newsroom at www.aviva.com/newsroom includes links to our image library, research reports and our news release archive.

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