Axa unit not for sale "at the moment"

The Uruguayan subsidiary of French insurer Axa (NYSE: AXA) will not be sold "at the moment" although such a move cannot be ruled out in the short term given signals emanating from the parent company, a top Axa executive told BNamericas. The French insurer's exit from Chile in August last year and subsequent withdrawals from Brazil and Argentina over the space of a week last month could point to Axa Uruguay becoming the parent company's next "victim," the executive admitted. The Uruguayan subsidiary is a small, profitable and firmly established insurer in the local market, he added. But the official categorically denied that the Uruguayan management had been told last week of the unit's imminent sale or that the subsidiary would form part of the parent company's sale package along with its Brazilian and Argentine operations. He added that Axa Uruguay's directors are also members of the management team at its Argentine branch and had traveled to Uruguay simply to formally confirm the Argentine sale. Axa Francia currently holds a 67% stake in Axa Uruguay with the remaining 33% having changed hands from previous owner Axa Brasil to Brazilian insurer Porto Seguro last week following the latter insurer's acquisition of a 99.7% stake in Axa's Brazilian operation. The Brazil transaction still remains subject to the approval of local regulators. "These negotiations are not taking place at a Uruguay level and I can't tell you whether such talks are being held. Axa Uruguay is an ongoing operation," the executive added.