Axa: Buberl, a joint venture with MPS? It’s too early to discuss it, but we’re prepared for any outcome
Cohen: "If it closes, fair compensation is expected"
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - It is “still too early” to discuss the future of the joint venture with MPS, which expires in October 2027, and it is “difficult to predict” how the situation in Italia will unfold given the ongoing banking crisis, but the AXA Group intends to discuss the matter in the coming months whilst remaining open to all possible solutions. This was stated by the group’s senior management in response to a question during the presentation of the new business plan. “The joint venture is due to end in October next year, but we do not know what solution will be adopted,” “it is most likely still too early to say,” said CEO Thomas Buberl, who then handed over to Patrick Cohen, CEO for European Markets and Health, to speak on the subject of the bancassurance partnership: “We are aware of the banking risk and the changes taking place in the Italian banking system,” he said. “It is very difficult to predict how the situation will evolve, but we will certainly discuss that agreement in the coming months. What is important is that we are prepared for all eventualities. We have significantly strengthened our presence in Italia thanks to the acquisition of Nobis and Prima. Prima continues to grow by 30 per cent this year. We are number two in the direct sales sector. We now operate in the retail motor insurance sector in Italia, where we are number one in terms of new policies. We therefore have a very solid presence and a strong business in that market.”
Cohen added that the impact of a possible termination of the partnership is “less than 2 per cent” of AXA’s profits in Europe in the Life and Health sector: “If we were to find ourselves in a scenario where the joint venture were to be wound up, we would be entitled to financial compensation reflecting the fair value of the joint venture. But at present, we do not know what the outcome will be.”
Speaking on the subject, the CFO of Axa pointed out that in the prospectuses published by MPS, “it is clearly stated that fair value would not only be represented by intrinsic value but also by the value of future assets”.
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