France's AXA to Buy Majority Stake in Italian Car Insurer Prima for $571 Million

By Elena Vardon

French insurer AXA agreed to buy a 51% stake in Italy's Prima for 500 million euros ($570.8 million) in a move that almost doubles the size of its car-insurance business in the country.

The deal is expected to bolster AXA's direct distribution capabilities in Europe, leveraging Prima's technology to sell policies directly to customers without the use of intermediaries and serve a growing segment of digitally savvy and price-sensitive clients, it said Friday.

Under the agreement, call and put options with an exercise price tied to Prima's earnings have been given to AXA and minority shareholders for the remaining 49% stake, it added. These can be exercised in 2029 or 2030.

Prima is a direct insurer that launched a decade ago and operates as a managing general agent. It has around a 10th of overall market share in retail car insurance in Italy, where it generated 1.25 billion euros in gross written premiums last year. The group also operates in the U.K. and in Spain.

"In our view, the deal is fair (but not compelling) in terms of value, but...the rationale is clear," Jefferies analyst Philip Kett said in a note to clients.

The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of 2025 subject to conditions, will impact AXA's solvency II ratio by 6 points, AXA said.

Write to Elena Vardon at [e-mail]

Corrections & Amplifications

This story was corrected at 0740 GMT. The earlier version said Prima generated 1.25 million euros in gross written premiums last year. The correct premiums figure is 1.25 billion euros.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-01-25 0334ET