Aviva to sell Turkish general insurance business to EMF Capital led consortium
25 Mar 2014
British insurer Aviva plc today said that it will sell its Turkish general insurance business Aviva Sigorta A.S, to a private equity consortium led by EMF Capital Partners.
The sale is subject to relevant regulatory approval and is expected to complete in the first half of 2014.
The London-based insurance giant did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but said that the sale is part of its strategy to narrow its focus on businesses where it has a leadership position and can generate attractive returns.
Aviva said that its life and pensions business in Turkey, AvivaSA, is unaffected by this transaction.
AvivaSA is a key growth business for the group and one of its future cash generators and a leading life and pensions' provider in Turkey.
Istanbul-based Aviva Sigorta A.S began operations in 1988 and is one of Turkey's leading private pension and life insurance companies.
The joint venture with Sabanci Group sells life and pensions products through banks and agencies. Its main distribution channel is Akbank, which is one of Turkey's largest privately-owned banks, with over 900 branches. AvivaSA also has one of the largest direct sales forces in the market, with 600 agents.
The sale is the latest of divestures made by Aviva in order to shore up its balance sheet and improve its capital position.
In the past six months Aviva has sold its US life unit to a division of Leon Black's Apollo Global Management for $1.1 billion, and Dutch Delta Lloyd for £671 million.
It has also agreed to sell its 49-per cent stake in a Malaysian joint venture for £152 million.
In 2012, the company sold its units in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania to US insurance giant MetLife Inc.