EU watchdog greenlights €2.7bn Allianz-Aviva merger in Poland

The European Commission has not flagged any "competition concerns" in  Allianz and  Aviva's €2.7 billion acquisition deal for the latter's Polish business, first unveiled in March this year.

UK insurer Aviva agreed to sell its entire shareholding in Aviva Poland to Allianz for a cash consideration of €2.5 billion, valuing the acquired business at €2.7 billion.

The Commission has approved the deal under the EU Merger Regulation, stating that the merger "does not raise any competition concern" in the market.

The EC examined the deal based on several factors and concluded that in all of the markets under consideration "the combined market shares of the parties are limited to moderate". It noted that, "several other well-established players are present and would be in a position to constrain possible attempts of price increases or foreclosure strategies by the combined entity post-merger".

Aviva offers life and non-life insurance, asset management and pensions in Poland, as well as life insurance and pensions in Lithuania, while the Santander Aviva Companies offer life and non-life insurance in Poland.

The divestment of Aviva Poland is the eighth transaction Aviva has announced in the past eight months, and concludes the planned refocus of the group’s portfolio on its "strongest businesses" in the UK, Ireland and Canada.

For Allianz, the agreement represents an important step for it to accelerate its story of strong profitability growth in the CEE region and scale up in Poland - the largest CEE market with 38 million inhabitants and GDP of approximately $600 billion.

Allianz provides financial services mainly in the field of life and non-life insurance and asset management services in over 70 countries, in particular in Europe. Santander Polska provides the full scope of banking services in Poland.

Through the transaction, Allianz expects to double its revenues in the Polish insurance market and achieve a well-balanced business mix between property/casualty and life insurance. In addition, the strong tied agents’ network and the long-term bancassurance joint venture with Santander will bolster Allianz’s distribution footprint and market position.

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.