Aviva in Delta Lloyd listing next month
INSURER Aviva yesterday said it was on track to sell off a chunk of its Dutch unit next month, raising hopes the firm will go on the hunt for buyout targets.
Aviva said it will sell off part of the Delta Lloyd unit in November by listing the company on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam.
The initial public offering (IPO), which will see Aviva float up to 40 per cent of Delta Lloyd, is expected to raise between €1bn (£917m) and €1.6bn.
Aviva has a 92 per cent stake in Delta Lloyd, which sells life and pension policies in the Netherlands.
Analysts said they hoped a large part of the proceeds would be used to make acquisitions, as Aviva takes advantage of depressed market values to buy out rivals on the cheap.
Barrie Cornes at Panmure Gordon maintained his “Buy” recommendation on Aviva on hopes of a bargain-priced bolt-on for the firm.
MF Global analyst Peter Eliot said: “The question is whether they do something in the UK or abroad. Doing something abroad is probably more in line with their growth and diversification strategy.”
A €1.6bn IPO would be Europe’s biggest since New World Resources’ $2.5bn float in May 2008, and the fifth-largest IPO globally this year.
Morgan Stanley
JOINT GLOBAL CO-ORDINATORS
DELTA LLOYD IPO
ACTING as joint global co-ordinators on the listing will be Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, with Jason Windsor from the latter playing a part the deal.
Windsor was part of the team drafted in when Aviva proposed a merger with Prudential back in March 2006, before it was rebuffed. He was also heavily involved in the tie up between entrepreneur Hugh Osmond’s insurer Pearl and Clive Cowdery’s buyout vehicle Resolution in October.
Windsor also worked on the sale of fund manager Gartmore to US private equity house Hellman & Friedman in 2006, and the following year helped building society Nationwide merge with rival Portman in a £150bn deal.