France-based insurer Credit Agricole Assurances (CAA) has bought a 5% stake in Italian banking firm Credito Valtellinese (Creval), as part of a long-term and exclusive partnership.
As part of the deal, CAA will acquire the entire share capital of Creval’s insurance subsidiary Global Assicurazioni (GA). Prior to the closing of the transaction, GA will be restructured by its current shareholders.
The total cash consideration to be paid by CAA for the acquisition of GA will be €80 million, with €70 million paid at closing and €10 million deferred, payable after the end of the fifth year of the partnership.
The announced-partnership will grant CAA, via its Italian subsidiary Crédit Agricole Vita (CA Vita), access to CreVal’s distribution network for all savings products as well as certain protection products for up to 15 years.
CASA Group could consider the possibility to increase its stake in Creval to up to 9.9%, although CAA and CASA Group have no plans to increase the stake beyond that threshold.
This transaction allows CAA and CreVal to “further consolidate their competitive position in the life bancassurance business by leveraging CAA’s industrial know-how to develop a market-leading commercial platform and exploiting the full potential of Creval’s franchise and distribution capabilities.”
