Athora Holding Ltd. is to acquire VIVAT N.V. from Anbang Group Holdings Co Ltd., retaining the life and asset management divisions. Following the closing of this acquisition, NN Group will take ownership of VIVAT Schadeverzekeringen N.V. (VIVAT Schade), VIVAT’s non-life business.
The acquisition marks Athora’s entry into the Dutch market, and it’s expected to drive stronger propositions in the respective life and non-life markets in the country, while at the same time enhancing customer offerings and delivering fresh capital to the Dutch insurance sector.
Athora says it has plans to grow the VIVAT life business through product innovation, competitive pricing and a commitment to sustainability. Following the takeover, all of VIVAT’s current life brands will remain present in the Dutch marketplace, and headquarters of VIVAT is to remain in Amstelveen.
Athora’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Michele Bareggi, commented: “Today marks our entrance in the Dutch market following our acquisitions and integration of the insurance businesses of Generali in Belgium, Aegon in Ireland and Delta Lloyd in Germany. We are building a specialised insurance group in Europe and VIVAT’s strong presence, including its compelling brand portfolio, will become a significant part of our European operations.
“We aim to invest in the life business in the Netherlands and deliver value not only to VIVAT’s existing customers, but also to Dutch consumers overall. New product introductions, competitive pricing and a renewed focus on a broad spectrum of customer services will be part of our offering. We kindly welcome the VIVAT employees to the Athora family and look forward to working together in the future to build on the already strong reputation of the VIVAT brands.”
While the financial terms of the overall transaction were not disclosed, Athora notes that its consideration is to be funded by commitments from its existing shareholder base and a small amount of term debt. Once adjusted for the transaction, Athora will have roughly €70 billion of consolidated assets, with roughly 2.2 million VIVAT life policyholders joining Athora’s existing 80,000.
Chairman of VIVAT’s Executive Board, Ron van Oijen, said: “Since 2016 VIVAT has made an extensive transformation which helped us to create a leading, customer focused, efficient and innovative insurer. We are confident that the acquisition by Athora and NN Group will further build upon the knowhow of the VIVAT employees to become even stronger players within the Dutch insurance market. Our customers can expect that the high service level will be continued going forward.”
The announcement on the deal notes that as soon as possible following the completion of the deal, NN Group is acquiring VIVAT Schade for €416 million in cash.
It’s expected that the strong capitalisation of both NN Group and Athora results in a more competitive and stable insurance market in the country.
VIVAT says that the transaction is a “best of both worlds” solution, “combining an established and renowned Dutch insurance brand with a specialised and focused European insurance player.”
Both transactions are expected to complete in the first-quarter of next year.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NN Group, Lard Friese, added: “We are pleased that together with Athora, we can offer VIVAT stakeholders a clear path for the future. For us, this acquisition represents a next step in strengthening our non-life business. After the acquisition of Delta Lloyd in 2017, we gained valuable experience in successfully integrating business operations. In today’s competitive markets, scale is essential to deliver attractive and sustainable customer propositions in the long-term.
“Moreover, it increases our ability to invest in digital capabilities and innovation, which are key to anticipating customer trends and drive the customer experience forward. VIVAT policyholders will benefit from the quality of our service and broad product offering. The expertise of the VIVAT non-life employees is important for the future success of the new combined non-life business.”
