Swiss Life/Rentenanstalt said it would acquire the French life insurance operations of Fortis, the Dutch/Belgian financial-services conglomerate, at a price of 150m to 200m.
The acquisition of Fortis France S.A. will expand Swiss Life's business in a profitable market and strengthen its distribution network there, Swiss Life said. Fortis Assurances S.A., the principal operating unit of Fortis France, had premiums of about 700m Swiss francs in 2001, mainly in unit-linked products, according to Zurich, Switzerland-based Swiss Life.
Fortis said the sale was in line with a systematic review of its operational units, which determined that with a market share of less than 1%, Fortis Assurances "could not aspire to a leading position on the French life insurance market in the medium term." But Fortis said placing the unit within Swiss Life would allow Fortis Assurances to strengthen its position and realize its full potential.
