The French insurer AXA announced that the agreement with CERTINVEST and SIF Transilvania to sell AXA’s Life & Savings insurance operations in Romania has failed. „AXA is reviewing its strategic options considering the interests of its clients and employees in Romania”, AXA Group officials declared, according to 1asig.ro.On December 18, 2014, AXA announced that it had entered into an agreement with the leading independent asset manager in Romania – CERTINVEST and with the financial investment company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange – SIF Transilvania to sell its insurance operations in Romania – the Life & Saving insurer – AXA Life Insurance. Under the terms of the failed agreement, CERTINVEST was supposed to acquire a stake of 70% in AXA’s Romanian subsidiary, while SIF Transilvania – the remaining 30% stake.
It’s worth mentioning that at the end of 2013, the French Group announced the sale of its Romanian subsidiary to the local player ASTRA Asigurari. Later, in mid-September 2014, AXA said that the transaction failed: „AXA is reviewing its strategic options considering the interests of its clients and employees in Romania”, AXA Group officials said at that moment.
Currently, ASTRA Asigurari is under the special administration of professional services, after the Romanian Financial Supervision Authority (FSA) decided that the insurer needed to start the procedure for the financial recovery. FSA named KPMG Advisory as special administrator of ASTRA.
AXA entered the Romanian insurance market in 2010, when it acquired OMNIASIG Asigurari de Viata – a small life insurance company, previously owned by the Austrians from VIENNA Insurance Group.
AXA Life Insurance Romania ended 2014 with GWP of RON 20.92 million (EUR 4.71 million) and a share of 0.25% of the total insurance market.
