By Elena Vardon
A consortium which includes BlackRock and German insurer Allianz agreed to buy Viridium Group from European buyout firm Cinven for around 3.5 billion euros ($3.83 billion).
The deal allows Cinven to exit its majority stake in the European consolidator of closed books of insurance policies after more than a decade of ownership.
In 2013, Cinven bought Viridium from U.K. lender Lloyds Banking Group for around 300 million euros with a view of using the group as a base from which to consolidate Germany's fragmented life-insurance market. Viridium currently employs around 900 people, has 3.4 million policy holders and oversees 67 billion euros in assets under management.
Viridium will remain an independent stand-alone platform under the leadership of its current management team once the deal goes through, the consortium said in a statement on Wednesday. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, subject to approvals.
The announcement confirms a Wall Street Journal report of exclusive talks between Allianz and Cinven for Viridium earlier this month.
The consortium is made up of Allianz, BlackRock and Japan's T&D Holdings--which is acquiring the largest share. They join Generali and Hannover Re as Viridium shareholders.
"We...believe this transaction is strategically constructive for the European insurance industry," Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst William Hawkins said in a note to clients.
Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2025 08:34 ET (12:34 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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