Grupo Catalana Occidente to Acquire Groupama’s Spanish Subsidiary

Grupo Catalana Occidente and INOCSA have entered into a purchase agreement with Groupama to acquire 100% of Groupama Seguros y Reaseguros. The agreement values 100% of the equity at €404.5 million euros.

Grupo Catalana Occidente and INOCSA have signed a binding purchase agreement to acquire Groupama Seguros y Reaseguros, SAU, Groupama’s Spanish subsidiary.

The transaction gives Grupo Catalana Occidente a 49% equity stake in Groupama Seguros, and INOCSA (GCO’s majority shareholder) the remaining 51%. The agreement values 100% of the equity capital of Groupama Seguros at €404.5 million. The transaction will also grant Grupo Catalana Occidente an option to purchase the shares owned by INOCSA after three years.

The agreement is now subject to regulatory approvals from the Spanish Supervisor (Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones) and the Spanish antitrust authority (Comisión Nacional de la Competencia).

Groupama Seguros reported revenues of €940 million in 2011 (38% Motor, 29% Multi-Risk, 18% Other Non-Life and 15% Life). It has 1,000 employees and a balanced geographic presence.
The company will be managed independently and will retain its present legal structure, without prejudice to the advantages that may accrue from the increased volume and the potential synergies resulting from the agreement.

This transaction further consolidates Grupo Catalana Occidente as a leading independent insurance group in the Spanish market for family and small and medium enterprise. The future integration of Groupama Seguros will bring Grupo Catalana Occidente total revenues to about €4.1 billion, and total staff to 6,800 employees.

In Spain, revenues from insurance premiums will total €3 billion, a level of turnover which would have placed the company 6th in the overall ranking by volume for 2011, or 2nd in the Multi-Risk insurance and 5th in the Motor insurance, with market shares of 10.8% and 6.5%, respectively. The transaction will also increase the diversification of the business, with an enhancement of traditional insurance over credit insurance, and will establish a valuable platform for growth and future profitability.