Aviva exits more Spanish businesses

Aviva announced the sale of its 50% shareholdings in life insurance and pension joint ventures Unicorp Vida and Caja España Vida, as well as its retail life insurance business Aviva Vida y Pensiones, to Santalucía on Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 firm said total consideration of the transaction was €475m (£403m).

It said the transaction was in line with Aviva's strategy of allocating capital to markets where it can deliver higher returns, and was part of a strategic review of its Spanish operations.

The consideration represented approximately 1.5x Aviva's share of the 2016 IFRS net asset value and 12x Aviva's share of 2016 earnings after tax of the businesses.

Aviva said the transaction would result in a gain of approximately £120m in Aviva's IFRS net asset value and an increase of approximately £130m in Aviva's Solvency II capital surplus.

The transaction remained subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals and was expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2017.

In Spain, Aviva would continue to hold shareholdings in life insurance joint ventures with Caja Granada and Cajamurcia, both part of Banco Mare Nostrum, and Pelayo Group.

“This is a strong outcome for Aviva,” said group chief executive Mark Wilson.

“The consideration of €475m is an attractive valuation and the sale further simplifies the group.

“It highlights our absolute focus on allocating capital effectively across the group and further strengthens our capital and liquidity position.”