Aviva to sell part of Dutch business

Oct 6 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

INSURANCE group Aviva has revealed that it will float part of its Dutch business Delta Lloyd in the next month, in a move expected to raise at least £1bn.

Britain’s largest insurer confirmed it will sell a minority stake in Delta Lloyd in a stock market listing scheduled for next month “when market conditions allow”.

Analysts at Panmure Gordon estimated today that Aviva could raise £1.3 billion in the float, giving it the firepower to make acquisitions in both the UK and overseas.

The operation is one of the top five financial services providers in the Netherlands, with around £40bn in assets under management. It employs about 6,400 staff.

The listing is taking place sooner than expected after Aviva said at its interims in August that a sale would not take place until next year.

However, the improvement in the health of equity markets and the high level of interest among Dutch institutional investors have encouraged Aviva to move more quickly.

The share sale would be one of the biggest offerings in Europe for at least 18 months.

Aviva has not disclosed details of the float, but reports at the weekend said it intended to sell between 30% and 40% of the business in Amsterdam, valuing the company at around £4bn.

The insurer said that the move would give it: "The flexibility to pursue balance sheet restructuring opportunities or to explore other opportunities for growth."

It added: "Delta Lloyd would benefit from a new shareholder base supportive of the company’s growth ambitions in the Benelux region, and a public listing would help to better position Delta Lloyd ahead of anticipated consolidation in the Netherlands and Belgium."

More information about the proposed listing will be included in a prospectus due to be published later this month.