French Insurance Giant AXA Sells its British Interests and Sun Life to Phoenix
About a month ago, AXA released a statement indicating the fact that they were in the process of selling Sun Life and the Britain based embassy pensions and investment operation, following strategic and since then there has been a lot of speculation regarding the possible buyers of the businesses. A month back, a statement from AXA has stated, "After detailed consideration, we have come to the conclusion that these businesses could be even more successful if supported by organizations with a stronger strategic focus on the life and savings segment," and on May 27, the French insurance company completed the sale of those businesses to the Phoenix Group. The deal has been completed entirely in cash and according to reports in the New Yort Times, Phoenix Group are going to pay AXA $551 million in order to absorb the said businesses into their own operations.
The CEO of the Phoenix Group, Clive Banniter said, "This is a sensible transaction which makes Phoenix both bigger and better and it acts as a stepping stone for additional transactions. So a door that is already open, we're making open even broader and open more widely," Some reports say that the Phoenix Group is trying to wrap a few more deals in the near future in order to consolidate its position in the industry. He went on to add, "The acquisition of the Embassy and SunLife businesses represents another important step forward in Phoenix's growth strategy. We believe that both the Embassy and SunLife businesses are a strong fit, benefiting both shareholders and policyholders alike."
According to most industry experts, AXA's exit from the British market is a sign that the company wants to move away from developed economies to emerging ones which do not have as much insurance penetration and it remains to be seen whether the strategy is going to pay off in the long run. Phoenix, on the other hand, have managed to acquire £123 billion worth of seats following the conclusion of the deal.
