General Insurance Article - Aviva to sell Friends Provident International for £340m

 Following a strategic review of FPIL, Aviva has concluded that the business is not central to the group’s strategy to focus on a small number of markets where it has scale and profitability or a distinct competitive advantage. The sale of FPIL will allow Aviva to further reallocate capital to businesses that can achieve leading market positions and deliver superior returns.

 The consideration represents a multiple of 3.2x FPIL’s 2016 net asset value. The transaction will result in an increase of approximately £100m in Aviva’s Solvency II capital surplus. The transaction will also create an IFRS loss on disposal of approximately £130m, which is primarily due to the intangible assets held on Aviva’s balance sheet arising from Aviva’s acquisition of FPIL in 2015.

 In 2016, FPIL made a post-tax loss of £2m and did not remit any cash to Aviva Group. As a result, a disposal of FPIL is expected to be positive to Aviva’s cash dividend paying capacity.

 FPIL will continue to serve customers, partners and intermediaries as usual and there is no change to customers’ policies as a result of today’s announcement.

 The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in early 2018.

 Chris Wei, Executive Chairman, Aviva Asia & FPIL, said:“The sale of Friends Provident International Limited is a good outcome for Aviva. It allows us to focus on the significant opportunities we have to grow Aviva’s business across Asia through digital and disrupting the traditional insurance industry.”