Dutch insurance giant NN and Bermuda-based Athora are taking over Dutch insurance company Vivat from China’s Anbang.

Vivat, which owns the Reaal and Zwitserleven brands, was put up for sale by Anbang earlier this year as part of a ‘strategic reorientation’ but rumours about a potential sell-off began circulating last year.

Vivat was taken over by Anbang in 2015 following the nationalisation of SNS Reaal at the beginning of 2013. The group was divided into a banking arm (SNS Bank) and an insurance company (Reaal, now named Vivat).

Under the terms of the deal, NN will take over Vivat’s non-life activities and Athora, which has been keen to expand in Europe, will keep the life and asset management units.

‘We are building a specialised insurance group in Europe and Vivat’s strong presence, including its compelling brand portfolio, will become a significant part of our European operations,’ Athora’s chief executive Michele Bareggi said in a statement.

Jobs

Vivat’s non-life activities will be integrated into NN, which is paying €416m for the units plus €150m in subordinated loans. It was not clear from the statement if jobs will be lost.

Lard Friese, CEO of NN Group said the deal is a next step in strengthening the company’s non-life business in its home market following the acquisition of Delta Lloyd in 2017.

‘In today’s competitive market, scale is essential to deliver attractive and sustainable customer propositions in the long term,’ he said. The deal will make NN Dutch market leader in the non-life sector.

The deal still has to be approved by the regulators.