CIMB sells its stake in CIMB Aviva

Total consideration is RM1,110.0 million.

According to a release, CIMB Group Holdings Berhad has reached an understanding with Khazanah Nasional Berhad to sell its stake in CIMB Aviva Assurance Berhad, a Malaysian life insurance company, and CIMB Aviva Takaful Berhad, a Malaysian takaful company (together, “the Companies”), for a total consideration of RM1,110.0 million.

The purchase consideration will be satisfied by a cash component of RM1,066.5 million as well as shares (worth RM 43.5 million) in a new insurance holding company, Renggis Ventures Sdn Bhd, wholly owned by Khazanah. As a result, CIMB Group will maintain an effective 2% interest in the Companies.

As part of the agreement, Khazanah will be entering into a strategic partnership with the Canadian insurer Sun Life Financial Inc. (“Sun Life”) in respect of the Companies. The Companies will have the exclusive right to distribute its insurance products, including takaful products, through CIMB Bank’s network across Malaysia. This network includes 312 branches across the country and a base of over 8 million customers.

“This divestment will enable us to reduce our spread of activities and release capital,” said Dato’ Sri Nazir Razak, Group Chief Executive, CIMB Group.

“We look forward to working with the new bancassurance partners we have chosen after an extensive selection process. Bancassurance remains a core component of our wealth management proposition and we believe that the enhanced bancassurance agreement and the potential regional synergies will enable our new partners to manufacture and support a more competitive product range for us to take to our customers," added Nazir.

The disposal of CIMB Group’s stake is subject to regulatory approvals and the execution of the appropriate legal documentation.