Aviva to Acquire Irish Insurer Friends First From Achmea for €130M
Aviva has announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Irish insurer Friends First for a cash consideration of €130M . As a result of this acquisition, Aviva will become one of the largest composite insurers in Ireland, with its market share in life insurance increasing to 15%, alongside its existing leading 15% market share in general insurance.
This transaction is in line with Aviva’s strategy to allocate capital in selected markets where it has scale or competitive advantage and where it can further expand its range of products across life and general insurance.
Friends First, currently owned by Dutch insurer Achmea Holding, has been operating in Ireland for over 180 years with a focus on life protection, pension and investment products for individuals and companies. It has over 250,000 customers, a market share of 6% and is a market leader in group risk and income protection.
“Friends First is a natural fit for Aviva Ireland. The acquisition will enhance Aviva Ireland’s product offering and accelerate our international growth agenda. It makes sense financially, strategically and for our customers. Our Irish business has been among the best performers in the Aviva group over the last couple of years. This acquisition underlines Aviva’s disciplined approach to deploying capital into bolt-on acquisitions that meet our strict financial criteria and strengthen our businesses” – Aviva International Insurance CEO Maurice Tulloch.
“I look forward to welcoming the Friends First employees to the Aviva group. Friends First is an excellent business and will be a great addition to Aviva Ireland. Their expertise in the area of income protection and group risk, in particular, will complement and strengthen the broad range of insurance products we offer our customers. It will also make us the leading insurer for brokers in the Irish market. Together, our market leading insurance business will be well placed to take full advantage of Ireland’s fast growing economy” – Aviva Ireland CEO John Quinlan.
