French insurer AXA to acquire remaining 50 pct stake in China JV

French insurance giant AXA announced Tuesday that it would offer 4.6 billion yuan (662 million U.S. dollars) to acquire the remaining 50 percent stake in AXA Tianping Property & Casualty Insurance Company Ltd to accelerate its growth in China.

Logos of France's biggest insurer Axa are seen on a building in Nanterre, near Paris, March 8, 2016. [Photo: VCG/Christian Hartmann]

AXA said it has entered into an agreement with the current domestic shareholders of its joint venture, the largest foreign Property & Casualty (P&C) insurer in China.

It said 1.5 billion yuan would be financed through a capital reduction of AXA Tianping to buy back shares from the current domestic shareholders.

This is the first transaction in the Chinese insurance market where a leading P&C insurer, with a nationwide footprint, will be fully owned by a foreign company, said Thomas Buberl, Chief Executive Officer of AXA.

"AXA Tianping represents a unique platform for AXA to capture fully the significant growth potential of the P&C and health markets in China," said Buberl.

"The acquisition further reaffirms our conviction that our operations in China will be a key growth engine of the group and in its preferred segments," he said.

"With full ownership and management control of AXA Tianping, we will further accelerate the deployment of our strategy to create a leading insurer that champions healthcare and mobility solutions," said Gorgon Watson, chief executive officer of AXA Asia.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

In 2017, AXA Tianping ranked 15th amongst China's P&C insurers, the only foreign-invested company in the top 20. It is a leading company in direct motor insurance in China, with motor insurance contributing to 91 percent of its gross written premiums and of which 41 percent is distributed through direct channels.

AXA Tianping has 25 branches and 93 sub-branches in 20 provincial-level regions across China.