Generali sells €409m stake in Guernsey, Irish businesses

Italian insurer Generali has entered into a share purchase agreement with Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG) to sell its entire shareholding in Generali Worldwide Insurance Company and Generali Link.

Generali will receive approximately €409 million in base consideration, plus additionally up to €10 million of contingent consideration to be paid at completion, for the sale of its stakes in the two companies.

The transactions are part of the group’s strategy to optimise its geographical footprint, increase its operational efficiency and improve capital allocation, the company said.

Generali Worldwide has its headquarters in Guernsey and specialises in offering life-insurance-based wealth management and employee benefit solutions to multi-national organisations, international expatriates and local resident populations, in a range of territories where it is licenced. The contribution of Generali Worldwide to the group’s operating result was approximately €35 million in 2017.

Generali Link is located in Ireland and was established as a shared service provider, particularly focused on fund and policy administration. The organisation provides services to Generali Worldwide as well as Generali PanEurope dac which was recently acquired by LCCG and renamed Utmost PanEurope dac.

Frédéric de Courtois, Group CEO global business lines & international, said: “This agreement affirms our ongoing efforts to optimize the Generali’s geographical presence across the globe within this year. With a total value of the deals over €1.5 billion, significantly above the initial target of €1 billion, Generali reaffirms its ability to successfully pursue the targets of its strategic plan.”

The company said following the deal, Generali Worldwide will continue to remain active and will act as the partner of the Generali employee benefits network to serve its existing and future clients.

Generali Group will retain the health portfolio of Generali Worldwide in the Caribbean, which will be managed by the global health division of Generali. This will allow Generali Group to maintain its presence in the region with the aim to further reinforce it and to continue to pursue its strategy of sustainable growth.

Generali expects the transaction will lead to a positive impact on the group’s Solvency position by adding approximately 0.9 percentage points to the Group’s Regulatory Solvency II ratio.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be finalised by the first quarter of 2019.

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