AXA Buys Stake in Insurance Business of Colombia’s Colpatria

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Axa SA agreed to buy a controlling stake in Colombian insurer Colpatria Seguros for €259 million ($346 million) to expand its Latin American operations.

The purchase of 51 percent of the business gives the Paris- based insurer control of a company that is Colombia’s fourth- largest insurer and second-largest property and casualty insurer, Axa said in an e-mailed statement.

Axa is committing about 6 billion euros to expanding in fast-growing emerging markets as a sluggish economy and an increasingly saturated turf weigh on revenue in Europe. The strategy helped the Paris-based insurer draw about 13 percent of its first-half operating profit from emerging markets, up from 8 percent three years ago.

Colpatria Seguros has “well-established positions in all lines of business,” Axa Chief Executive Officer Henri de Castries said in the statement. “This operation strengthens AXA’s growth profile and marks another milestone in our strategy of accelerating in high growth markets,” he said.

–Editors: Keith Campbell, Jon Menon