MetLife acquires Deniz Emiklilik for $293 mn from Dexia

European financial institution Dexia today said that it will sell its Turkish insurance business Deniz Emiklilik to MetLife, for €162 million ($229.3 million).

New York-based MetLife, one of the world's largest insurance firm, will buy Dexia's 99.86-per cent stake in DenizEmeklilik through its Turkish business, property and casualty insurance business.

Dexia's DenizBank will sell MetLife's pension and insurance products through its branches for the next 15 years on an exclusive basis.

Belgian-French financial services group Dexia is selling assets as part of the deal arrived with the European Commission for receiving public bailout in September 2008 during the global financial crisis.

Brussels-based Dexia is a Belgian-French bank engaged in public sector finance, retail and commercial banking services, asset management, financial markets and insurance. Dexia operates primarily in Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

Following the global credit crisis, Dexia was bailed out by the governments of Belgium, France and Luxembourg through a capital injection of €6.4 billion ($8.7 billion) and a state guarantee for its liabilities for a total amount of €150 billion, effective 31 October 2008.