Dutch insurer NN Group has confirmed that it has put forward an offer to acquire part of MetLife’s businesses in Europe.
The company says that such an acquisition would be an opportunity to consolidate its positions in these markets, which are considered to have attractive growth potential.
Neither NN Group or MetLife has published details of the bid, but reports from Bloomberg suggest that the figure on offer could be in the region of $740 million.
Similarly, the units in question are thought to be in Greece and Poland, but the parties involved have not confirmed anything at this stage.
Metlife is said to be trying to streamline its global operations at the moment, while NN Group has been facing some activist investor pressure, so a deal could be in the interests of both parties.
Currently, there is no timeline on when an agreement could be reached, but sources at Bloomberg have hinted that it could be as early as this week.
Earlier this year, NN Group completed the integration VIVAT Non-life, which it acquired as part of a larger transaction that saw Athora purchase VIVAT N.V. from China’s Anbang Group.
NN Group came under pressure last year from investor Elliott Advisors (UK) Limited, which argued that the company’s underlying value had “been obscured” and was not being properly reflected in its share price, adding that “NN Group itself is the greatest impediment to unlocking the valuation discount.”
