Italy's ICCREA awaits offers by end May for insurance business- sources
26/04/2023 16:58
By Valentina Za and Amy-Jo Crowley
MILAN, April 26 (Reuters) - Italian unlisted cooperative
banking group ICCREA is awaiting by the end of May offers for
its insurance business which it values at up to 950 million
euros ($1.05 billion) in total, sources with knowledge of the
matter said on Wednesday.
ICCREA bought out its partner Cattolica, an Italian insurer
now owned by bigger peer Generali GASI.MI , after their accord
expired at the end of last year and was not renewed, the three
sources said.
Cattolica and ICCREA had agreed in 2019 to extend until the
end of 2022 their partnership under a deal that saw Cattolica
raise to 70% its ownership of their insurance joint-ventures BCC
Vita and BCC Assicurazioni.
Now in possession of 100% of its insurance business, ICCREA
is working with adviser KPMG to select new partners for both its
life- and non-life divisions, the sources said.
Any new partner would initially acquire a 51% stake entering
a five-year distribution contract, which could be later renewed
for another 10 years possibly with an option to lift the stake
to 70%, they said.
ICCREA Director General Mauro Pastore said in February the
bank expected to select one or more partners for its insurance
business by the end of the year.
BNP Paribas Cardif, Apollo-backed Athora and Apax
Partners-backed GamaLife are working on possible bids for the
life business, the sources said, with one person adding the
valuation sought was of 600-700 million euros.
The non-life business, for which one source said the
valuation sought was of 150-250 million euros, has drawn
interest instead from German insurer Talanx Group, Swiss rival
Helvetia Group, France's Groupama and Italian cooperative
insurer Assimoco.
All interested parties either declined to comment or had no
immediate comment.
($1 = 0.9052 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za in Milan and Amy-Jo Crawley in
London;
Editing by Keith Weir)
((valentina.za@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 6612 9526;))