AXA is exploring the possible sale of its private equity unit and also said there was no guarantee that the process will lead to a deal, Economic Times reported.
The French insurer said the strategic review of the unit was in the initial stage and it still sees private equity as an attractive investment class for its assets.
Other reports said last week, that the Europe’s number 2 insurer AXA was considering selling private equity unit, which has 20 billion euros ($27.3 billion) under management.
The unit could be worth as much as $1.5 billion, said one source to a news agency, while others said that it was likely to fetch substantially less.
According to some analysts, the sale of the private equity would likely be a response to the tougher capital requirements under the Solvency II rules aimed at bolstering the industry’s financial strength.
Over the past year, AXA has bought $1.7 billion in private-equity assets from Citigroup Inc, $1.9 billion in private equity funds from Bank of America Corp, a $740 million private equity portfolio from UK bank Barclays Plc and most recently, a majority stake in a portfolio of private equity fund investment from Germany’s HSH Nordbank AG.
AXA is a French global insurance group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It is a conglomerate of independently run businesses, operated as per laws and regulations of many different countries.
The AXA group engages in life, health and other forms of insurance as well as investment management. The group operates primarily in western Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific region and the Middle East.
