(Adds details on Allianz)
By Pamela Barbaglia, Stephen Jewkes and Agnieszka Barteczko
MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) - Italian insurer Generali
has nudged up its bid for Aviva's Polish arm, valuing
the business at almost 2.5 billion euros ($3 billion), in a
last-ditch effort to prevail over Dutch insurer NN, two sources
familiar with the matter told Reuters.
London-listed insurer Aviva received three binding
bids on March 22 for its Polish operations, with NN submitting
the highest offer, which valued the unit at about 2.5 billion
euros, the sources said.
German insurer Allianz and Generali - which have
existing operations in Poland - were given a final chance this
week to improve their bids, the sources added.
Allianz also improved its offer as it sees the Aviva unit as
a strategic asset that will give the winner an edge in Poland
and central Europe, two separate sources said, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
Aviva is expected to enter exclusive talks with one of the
three bidders in the coming days, they said.
A spokesperson for Aviva said the British insurer was
exploring options for Poland but no decision had been made.
Generali, NN and Allianz declined to comment.
Aviva is the second largest life insurer in Poland after
state-owned PZU and the tenth biggest provider of general
insurance in the country. Its Polish business also includes two
key bancassurance partnerships with Santander and ING.
Generali initially valued the Polish business at just over 2
billion euros only to sweeten its bid on March 24, offering
close to 2.5 billion euros, the sources said.
NN immediately offered about 2.5 billion euros, while
Allianz improved its initial offer, which was more than 2
billion euros, after the March 22 deadline to keep up with the
other contenders, the sources said.
"They wouldn't stop early when they have gone so far," a
source familiar with the German insurer's strategy said.
Aviva, whose boss Amanda Blanc is about to complete an
ambitious asset divestment programme in Europe, wanted to take
advantage of the competitive environment and has given the three
bidders an opportunity to make their final offers this week.
For Generali, the deal would serve as a springboard to
Poland - a market seen by boss Philippe Donnet as core to the
company's expansion, with the Italian insurer recently saying it
would consider any growth opportunity there.
"Aviva is the real winner in this auction as the price is
going through the roof," one of the sources said.
Panmure Gordon analysts initially estimated the sale of
Aviva's remaining European assets in Poland and Italy would be
worth 2.1 billion pounds ($2.9 billion) overall.
Aviva sold its life insurance businesses in Italy to
France's CNP Assurances for 543 million euros on March 4.
It also pocketed 3.2 billion euros from the sale of its
French operations to Macif's Aéma Groupe in February and an
additional 122 million pounds from flipping its 40% stake in a
joint venture in Turkey to Ageas Insurance International.
($1 = 0.8470 euros)
($1 = 0.7292 pounds)
(Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia, Stephen Jewkes and Agnieszka
Barteczko; additional reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, Carolyn
Cohn and Alex Huebner; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle, Mark Potter
and Edmund Blair)
Aviva (AV.)
