AXA announces today the strengthening of its position in Central and Eastern Europe through the buyout of the minority interests held by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for an amount of Euro 147 million1 (ca. 0.9x Embedded Value).
The EBRD had a historical presence in the Hungarian, Czech and Polish entities which were acquired by AXA as part of the Winterthur transaction in 2006.
The buyout will allow AXA to recognize the full benefits of its operations in those three countries, where the Group enjoys competitive positions in the pension and life markets.
This transaction will be funded internally. Closing, subject to customary regulatory approval, is expected to take place in the course of the first semester 2010.
