Old Mutual to sell Italy business to Ergo Italia for €278m

Investment bank Old Mutual is to sell its Old Mutual Wealth Italy subsidiary to insurance company Ergo Italia, which is owned by private equity firm Cinven, for €278m.

The sale is expected to be completed in the next six months is part of Old Mutual’s strategy to divest its Continental Europe business in order to focus on British and cross border markets.

Proceed will be retained by Old Mutual for general corporate purposes.

At 31 December 2015, Old Mutual Wealth Italy had €7bn of funds under management and contributed €22m of post-tax earnings for the year.

Shares in the FTSE 100 listed Old Mutual were up 0.46% to 219.80p at 0857 BST.