- SABANCI HOLDING FORMS A PARTNERSHIP IN NON-LIFE INSURANCE WITH AGEAS, A LEADING EUROPEAN INSURANCE GROUP
- AGEAS TO PAY 220 MILLION USD FOR 31% OF AKSIGORTA WITH THE EXISTING 38% FREE FLOAT TO REMAIN IN PLACE
- SABANCI HOLDING CEO ZAFER KURTUL: "AFTER A RIGOROUS SELECTION PROCESS WE HAVE CONCLUDED THAT AGEAS IS THE BEST PARTNER TO HELP REALISE OUR AMBITIONS TO MAKE AKSIGORTA THE LEADING NON-LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY IN TURKEY. AGEAS HAS AN OUTSTANDING TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESSFUL INSURANCE PARTNERSHIPS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING TOGETHER"
- AGEAS CEO BART DE SMET: "TURKEY IS A FAST-DEVELOPING COUNTRY WITH ATTRACTIVE GROWTH POTENTIAL IN NON-LIFE INSURANCE.I AM VERY PLEASED THAT WE CAN ACCESS THIS GROWTH MARKET TOGETHER WITH SABANCI HOLDING, A WELL-REPUTED AND LEADING TURKISH GROUP WITH EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN PARTNERSHIPS"
- SABANCI HOLDING STRATEGY & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND INSURANCE GROUP PRESIDENT HAKAN AKBAS: "WITH OUR NEW PARTNER AGEAS, AKSIGORTA WILL LEAD THE WAY FOR CONSOLIDATION TO MARKET LEADERSHIP IN THE TURKISH INSURANCE SECTOR AND PURSUE ACQUISITIONS."
Aksigorta, majority-owned by Sabancı Holding, has joined forces with the 180-year-old Belgian insurance giant Ageas. Currently controlling 62% of Aksigorta shares, Sabancı Holding will transfer 31% of the shares to Ageas for 220 million USD. Aksigorta will maintain its listing and the free-float shares are unaffected by the transaction. The company will continue to operate under the Aksigorta brand. The sale transaction with Ageas is expected to close following the regulatory approval in Turkey and the EU.
Sabancı Holding CEO Zafer Kurtul said: "After a rigorous selection process spanning the last several months, we have concluded that Ageas, one of Europe's leading insurance groups, is the best partner to help us realise our aim of making Aksigorta the leading non-life insurance company in Turkey. We have set new, demanding performance targets for Aksigorta and we are better positioned to achieve them with Ageas as our partner. Our objective is to be a more customer-centric company, while increasing both our market share and profitability. We will continue to raise Aksigorta's service standards, improve productivity and maximize the potential of our multiple distribution channels, all to levels of international best-practice. We see, for example, scope for being much more effective in sales through Akbank. The extensive bancassurance experience of Ageas will be invaluable in this regard.
I know that all our stakeholders - our employees, agents, investors and business partners - will prosper from this partnership"
Ageas CEO Bart De Smet highlighted Turkey's growth potential and commented as follows: "I welcome this new partnership as an important next step in the execution of our strategy as announced at the end of September 2009. Turkey is a fast-developing country with attractive growth potential in non-life insurance and currently low penetration levels. I am very pleased that we can access this growth market together with Sabancı Holding, a well-reputed and leading Turkish group with extensive experience in partnerships."
Together with our partner Ageas, Aksigorta will lead the way for consolidation to market leadership.
Sabancı Holding Strategy, Business Development and Insurance Group President Hakan Akbas said "We are very pleased with the outcome of our diligent process for a new partner. Together we will continue to deliver sustainable economic value for our shareholders. Ageas and Sabancı are in complete alignment over the future direction of the business. For example, consistent with Ageas' global strategy to leverage strong brand names of its partners, we will continue to operate under the Aksigorta brand. Our aim is to establish Aksigorta as Turkey's best insurance company building on the company's 50-year history and Ageas' 180-year track record. We will lead the way for sector consolidation to market leadership in Turkey." Akbas also added that they intend to deliver superior return on equity to our shareholders building on Ageas' expertise in bancassurance, health insurance as well as alternative channels of distribution.
Steven Braekeveldt, CEO of Continental Europe added: "This transaction adds to our existing and successful partnerships such as BNP Paribas in Belgium, Tesco in the UK, Milleniumbcp in Portugal, UBI Banca in Italy and our Asian joint ventures. The acquisition is a great opportunity for us to participate in the expected growth of the Turkish insurance market. At the same time, Ageas will be able to contribute its knowledge and experience in bancassurance to further improve cross-selling through the Akbank network."
Aksigorta General Manager Ugur Gulen said: "We are delighted to shake hands with Ageas, a truly customer-centric insurance provider. We have ambitious targets for 2011 and beyond but with Ageas' operational expertise and international track record in building successful partnerships, our organisation will experience a new level dynamism".
Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Ak Yatırım acted as financial advisors in the process.
About Sabancı Holding:
Sabancı Holding is the parent company of the Sabancı Group, Turkey's leading industrial and financial conglomerate. The Sabancı Group companies are market leaders in their respective sectors. Sabancı Holding's main business units include financial services, energy, retail, cement, automotive, tire and tire reinforcement materials. Listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), Sabancı Holding has controlling interests in 11 companies also listed on the ISE.
Sabancı Group companies currently operate in 18 countries and market their products in various regions in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North Africa and North and South America. Having extensive knowledge and experience in Turkey, Sabancı Holding has led a drastic growth in its core businesses. Its respectability, trademark image and strong joint ventures, further extended its operations into the global market. Sabancı Holding's multinational business partners include such prominent companies as Aviva, Bridgestone, Carrefour, Citigroup, Dia, Heidelberg Cement, International Paper, Philip Morris, and Verbund.
In addition to coordination of finance, strategy and business development and human resources functions, Sabancı Holding determines the Group's vision and strategies, thus creating shareholder value through synergies across Group companies.
In the first nine months of 2010, Sabancı Holding posted a consolidated net profit of 1.2 billion TL.
Sabancı Holding declared sales of 14.3 billion TL in the first nine months of 2010, while its operating profit increased 11 percent to 3.069 billion TL in the same period.
Sabancı Holding's total assets reached 120 billion 842 million TL and its equity TL 23 billion 56 million on 30 September 2010.
About Ageas:
Ageas is an international insurance company with a heritage spanning more than 180 years. Ranked among the top 20 insurance companies in Europe, Ageas has chosen to concentrate its business activities in Europe and Asia, which together make up the largest share of the global insurance market. They are grouped around four segments: Belgium, United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia. It is an undisputed leader in the Belgian market for individual life and employee benefits, as well as a leading non-life player, through AG Insurance. Internationally Ageas has a strong presence in the UK, where it is the third largest player in private car insurance. The company also has subsidiaries in France, Germany and Hong Kong. Ageas has a track record in developing partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors in different markets around the world and successfully operates partnerships in Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand. Ageas employs more than 11,000 people and has annual inflows of almost EUR 16 billion.
About Aksigorta:
Founded on April 28, 1960 with an administrative center located in Adana and its business center located in Istanbul to serve companies within the Sabancı Group, Aksigorta A.Ş. is today one of the leading insurance companies, with its continuously rising market share in non-life branches, thanks to its nationwide delivery and service network of 10 Regional Directorates, 2 Regional Representative Offices, 838 Akbank branches and 1,447 independent agencies. Aksigorta's mission is to become an insurance company which raises social awareness on insurance, while being the first choice of insurer among its current and potential customers; to be the most accessible insurer; to be admired the most, and to create value for its stakeholders, thanks to its range of delivery channels, product diversity and its qualified and wide service network. At a recent survey conducted independently by TNS PIAR, Aksigorta received the highest top-of-mind awareness. Aksigorta was also named "the most prestigious" in a survey conducted by Synovate.