Aviva sells Malaysian business for £152m
INSURANCE giant Aviva yesterday announced the disposal of its stake in a Malaysian business for £152m, the latest unit to be sold as part of a radical streamlining plan.
CIMB-Aviva, a joint venture with one of Malaysia’s biggest banks, was only founded in 2007. But it fell victim to the British company’s decision to retreat from many mid-sized markets with the intention of boosting its capital surplus.
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada successfully fought off competition from the UK’s Prudential and Canada’s Manulife Financial to buy Aviva’s 49 per cent stake in the business.
Earlier this month Aviva sold its remaining stake in Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd, having completed a string of disposals during late 2012.
Barrie Cornes, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, said the sale of the Malaysian business will be the last of the company’s big deals: “Not only has Aviva disposed of businesses quicker than we had anticipated but it has achieved better prices too.”