AXA Germany transfers €19bn insurance portfolio to Athora

AXA Germany will transfer a portfolio of around 900,000 conventional life and annuity insurance contracts worth €19bn in assets under administration to Athora Germany for a purchase price of €610m, the companies announced today.

The portfolio of contracts – closed to new business for almost 10 years – was held by insurer DBV-Winterthur Life (DWL). It was bought by AXA in 2006.

The share of the portfolio corresponds to around one fifth of the total life and annuity insurance contracts in portfolio held in Germany by AXA.

With the transaction, expected to close in 2023 subject to regulatory approval, AXA passes on close to €14bn in actuarial reserves to Athora Germany, the subsidiary of Athora Holding.

AXA Germany will earn €660m from the transaction including an estimated €50m statutory earnings for 2022.

Athora Germany will buy a company to transfer the portfolio of life and annuity insurance contracts and its associated balance sheet prior to the closing of the transaction, it said in a statement.

AXA Germany will migrate the portfolio over a period of five years, continuing to offer certain asset management services to Athora Germany, notably investment-grade debt, until 2028, the companies said announcing the deal.

After the closing of the transaction, Athora Germany will have €24bn in assets under administration, 1.1 million customers, and over €100bn of consolidated assets under administration, including the proposed acquisition of Amissima Vita and portfolio transfer with NN Belgium, it said.

Michele Bareggi, chief executive officer of Athora group, said: “We have been strategically building Athora’s presence across Europe and are excited about the opportunity this deal provides for our growth in Germany.”

He added that Athora has a reputation for managing guaranteed savings portfolios in Germany, with a focus on prudent investment, risk and capital management, and it wants to the meet the demand of the customers for such products in the German market.

Thilo Schumacher, CEO of the AXA Group, added: “Life insurance is and will remain an important strategic part of the core business of AXA and its DBV brand. With capital market-oriented solutions, we already have the right offerings meeting the demand of the customers and regulatory requirements. The sale enables us to consistently continue on this path.”

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