Aviva to make £1.1bn from Delta Lloyd

The insurer Aviva is expecting to make €1.2bn (£1.1bn) from the sell-off of a 42 per cent stake in its Dutch insurance business Delta Lloyd.

Publishing the prospectus for the initial public offering of the shares yesterday, Aviva set a price range that values Delta Lloyd at between €2.6bn and €3.1bn. The pricing is cautious given the €4.1bn regulatory valuation of Delta Lloyd's assets, but the sale will still reap Aviva €1.2bn, with which it plans to "explore balance sheet restructuring and further growth opportunities".

Following the sale, Aviva will hold 57 per cent of Delta Lloyd's shares and 53 per cent of the voting rights. The UK insurer will continue to be entitled to nominate two members of the board of Delta Lloyd, which offers insurance, fund management and banking products in the Netherlands itself, as well as Belgium.

Delta Lloyd said yesterday that sales of life insurance products had fallen sharply during the third quarter of the year, but that general insurance premiums were ahead of 2008.