The European Commission has cleared the way for Covéa to acquire PartnerRe.
The deal, which has been valued at $9bn, has been in the works since last year. Back in October, EXOR and Covéa signed a memorandum of understanding that the former would sell the reinsurer in its entirety to the latter.
Following those talks, the EC has announced that it has given its approval under the EU Merger Regulation.
EXOR and Covea signed an MoU under which Covéa would, following the completion of a required consultation with works councils, enter into a definitive agreement to acquire the Bermuda-based reinsurer.
The cash consideration, as Reinsurance News reported last year, is to be paid by Covéa on closing of the deal and is based on a consolidated common shareholders’ equity value of $7bn, while Preferred Shares issued by PartnerRe and listed on the NYSE would not be included in the proposed acquisition.
The pair had previously entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), under which Covéa would acquire PartnerRe from EXOR for a total cash consideration of $9bn, as well as a cash dividend of $50m.
