Liberty Insurance’s Italian buyer Assicurazioni Generali eyes Aviva in €10bn growth push

Philippe Donnet, CEO of Assicurazioni Generali. Photo: Bloomberg

Sonia Sirletti and Daniele Lepido and Tommaso Ebhardt

Italian insurance giant Assicurazioni Generali is analysing a range of potential takeover candidates as part of the insurer’s growth plans, with some of them worth more than €10bn, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The Italian insurer would only consider friendly deals and on its wish list are more than half a dozen firms, including large ones such as Aviva Plc and smaller rivals like Uniqa Insurance Group, the sources said.

Italy’s biggest insurer has, for instance, studied the possible merits of a deal with NN Group NV, a Dutch insurer with a market value of about €11bn.

Generali Group bought Liberty Insurance in Ireland last year as part of a wider deal worth €2.3bn.

Liberty had entered the Irish market in 2011 through an acquisition of parts of the former Quinn Insurance and offers personal car and home insurance, as well as business products.

Generali, which has a market capitalisation of almost €35bn, would only contemplate targets with a price tag of up to half its own stock value, according to sources. It held informal discussions at very high level with some potential targets, though they haven’t led to formal talks and there are currently no live negotiations under way, the sources said.

A spokeswoman for Generali declined to comment.

CEO Philippe Donnet, who is to unveil a new set of financial targets by the year-end, has long balanced investments in growth with shareholder payouts. Since taking the helm in 2016, he has ­strengthened Generali’s finances, cut costs and expanded into more lucrative product areas while cementing the firm’s presence in its home market and abroad through a string of acquisitions.

Last year, the firm agreed to acquire a group of European firms from US insurer Liberty Mutual Holding Co for €2.3bn and Cathay Life unit Conning Holdings Ltd.

The current takeover planning is focused on Generali’s core EU markets and is considering mainly share-based deals, rather than cash. Other targets on its radar include Aegon Ltd, Ageas SA, Baloise Holding AG, Ergo Group, Mapfre SA and Vienna Insurance Group AG, the sources said.

Mr Donnet (63) said this week Generali may increase its dividend and consider a share buyback on an annual basis as part of his next strategic plan.

The CEO pledged to return as much as €5.6bn to shareholders through dividends in the period 2022 to 2024.