AXA to divest Malaysian insurance business to Generali for €140m

French insurance company AXA has agreed to divest its insurance operations in Malaysia to Italian insurer Generali for €140 million.

The sale includes AXA’s 49.99% stake in AXA Affin General Insurance (AAGI), a property and casualty (P&C) insurer, and a 49% stake in life insurer AXA Affin Life Insurance (AALI).

Both AXA Affin General Insurance and AXA Affin Life Insurance are joint ventures with Affin Bank Berhad.

Generali will also acquire a 3% stake from Affin Bank in AXA Affin General Insurance and a 21% stake from the Malaysian bank in AXA Affin Life Insurance.

AXA Affin General Insurance has a distribution network of more than 5,000 active agents across Malaysia. The general insurer registered €287 million of gross written premiums in 2020.

On the other hand, AXA Affin Life Insurance, which was created in 2006, had an annual premium equivalent of €24 million in 2020.

AXA to divest Malaysian insurance business to Generali for €140m. Photo courtesy of Kokky92/Wikipedia.org.

The deal, which is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, is anticipated to close by Q2 2022.

Generali said that it will forge an exclusive bancassurance agreement with Affin Bank for selling traditional P&C and life insurance products.

In addition to the deal with AXA and Affin Bank, the Italian insurance giant had filed an application to the local regulator in order to take full ownership of MPI Generali Insurans Berhad (MPI Generali) by acquiring the stake of its Malaysian joint venture partner – Multi-Purpose Capital Holdings Berhad (MPHB Capital).

Generali plans to merge MPI Generali with AXA Affin General Insurance. The Italian insurance giant said that the total consideration for all the three deals is €262 million.

Jaime Anchústegui Melgarejo – CEO International, Generali Group, said: “The transactions are fully aligned with Generali’s strategy to strengthen its leadership position in high potential markets, like Malaysia, which represents a very attractive opportunity as it is home to a growing middle-class population and with an insurance penetration rate that is still relatively low compared to other more mature markets in the Asian region.”