ABN Amro unit sells insurance ops for US$355mn to Tokio Marine

The Brazilian subsidiary of Dutch banking group ABN Amro (NYSE: ABN) has sold its local P&C unit and 50% of its life & pension unit to Japanese insurer Tokio Marine for 897mn reais (US$355mn), ABN Amro said in a statement. The race for ABN Amro's Brazilian insurance operation began last year and included other contenders, such as Spain's Mapfre. Tokio Marine will acquire 100% of Real Seguros, mainly a P&C provider, and 50% of life & pension unit Real Vida e Previdência to form a 50-50 joint venture with ABN Amro Brazil. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter this year after receiving regulatory approval in Brazil, Japan and the Netherlands. The deal is based on a 10-year bancassurance partnership between the two parties, in which ABN Amro Brazil will distribute on an exclusive basis Tokio Marine's insurance and pension products through its nationwide branch network. ABN Amro is one of the largest foreign-owned retail banks in Brazil. ABN Amro's Brazilian insurance operation is the seventh largest in Brazil with 900,000 clients and it was included in the acquisition of local bank Banco Real in 1998. Tokio Marine is a subsidiary of Japan's Millea Holdings, which is the tenth largest insurance group worldwide with net written premiums of US$21bn.