By Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Amy-Jo Crowley and Carolyn Cohn
LONDON (Reuters) -Aviva Plc is amongst a small handful of insurers exploring bids for the UK shopper operations of rival RSA, two folks accustomed to the matter advised Reuters.
RSA’s proprietor, Intact Financial Corp, mentioned final month it was reviewing strategic choices for RSA’s private strains business, which incorporates home and pet insurance coverage, to concentrate on business insurance coverage.
Suitors have been requested to submit presents subsequent month in an public sale managed by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), mentioned the folks, who spoke on situation of anonymity.
The unit presents insurance policies on to customers by way of its More Than model, in addition to by way of partnerships with excessive road retailers together with John Lewis and Tesco (LON:TSCO).
Aviva (LON:AV) and JPMorgan declined to remark. Intact didn’t reply to a request for remark.
“Intact is exploring strategic choices in respect of RSA’s UK private strains business, which can embrace a doable sale,” an RSA spokesperson mentioned, including that it expects to finish the strategic overview within the fourth quarter.
For Aviva, which presents each life and common insurance coverage, a deal would come scorching on the heels of its acquisition of the UK life insurance coverage business of AIG (NYSE:AIG) for 460 million kilos, its largest purchase but beneath CEO Amanda Blanc.
Shares in Aviva shot up as a lot as 10% on Friday amid hypothesis the group may itself turn into a takeover goal.
Aviva inventory trimmed a few of its positive aspects to shut up 5.3% at 409 pence following Reuters’ report of Aviva’s curiosity in RSA’s unit.
The deliberate divestment by RSA comes simply two years after the London-based insurer was taken off the inventory market and cut up in two by Canada’s Intact and Denmark’s Tryg, which saved the goal’s Nordic portfolio.
During this time, private strains insurers within the UK have been impacted by regulatory modifications and claims inflation because the cost of residing soared. This led RSA to exit the motor insurance coverage market earlier this 12 months forward of the present sale.
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