LONDON - Britain's biggest insurer, Aviva PLC announced Friday that it was in talks to acquire US-based insurer AmerUs Group Co. The deal is thought to be valued at £1.3 billion ($2.3 billion).
"A transaction, if agreed, is expected to be funded from a combination of Aviva's internal resources, external debt and a market placing of Aviva shares," Aviva said in a statement. The company was liked to AmerUs in January, but denied press speculations as it pursued a merger deal with UK rival Prudential. However that prospect did not materialize owing to some misgivings on the part of Prudential. One of the main reasons for pursuing Prudential was the access it gave to the Asian and American markets. So Aviva's interest in AmerUs makes good market sense.
AmerUs is a leading insurer specializing in indexed long-term savings products including retirement savings products. The company also offers indexed life assurance. Elaborating on the nature of the talks with AmerUs, Aviva said any progress would be intimated in its trading update.
"These discussions are consistent with Aviva's stated strategy of pursuing value creating acquisition opportunities in key growth segments of the major global long term savings markets," the statement added. "If a transaction is agreed, any equity placing will be accompanied by an update on Aviva's current trading."
Aviva is the sixth largest insurance group in the world boasting of £317 billion assets under its management.
