Aviva to sell Italian JV to Banco BPM

Insurer Aviva said on Friday that it plans to sell its 50% stake in its joint venture in Italy, Avipop Assicurazioni and its unit Avipop Vita, to Italy's Banco BPM for an undisclosed sum.

The news follows a notification received by Aviva at the end of June of Banco BPM's intention not to renew its bancassurance agreement with the company. In 2016, the businesses contributed £200m to Aviva's IFRS net assets and generated around £14m IFRS operating profit before tax.

Aviva said its other joint ventures in Italy with UBI and UniCredit and its business units Aviva Life and Aviva Italia are unaffected.

Maurice Tulloch, chief executive officer of Aviva International Insurance, said: "This transaction will realise value for Aviva shareholders and will allow us to invest further in our future growth. Aviva has momentum in Italy and I am confident about our prospects. We are now in a good position to grow our business further, with our partners and through digital."

At 0845 BST, the shares were up 0.3% to 524.35p.