Financial services providers Fortis and La Caixa have announced that they are to end their joint venture and have agreed for La Caixa to purchase Fortis's 50% stake in the Spanish bancassurance joint venture, CaiFor. The total cash consideration amounts to E980 million, including a 2007 interim dividend of E30 million.
Jacob Westerlaken, CEO of Fortis Insurance International Europe, said: After 15 years of fruitful co-operation, Fortis and La Caixa have jointly decided to put an end to the joint venture. Since its inception in 1992 Fortis and La Caixa have together built a leading bancassurer in Spain.
This partnership – the first of its kind in European financial services – combined with Fortis’s expertise, enabled us to launch what has now become an internationally recognized model of successful bancassurance. Fortis remains fully committed to the Spanish market, both in banking and insurance, and to our international bancassurance strategy. We wish our friends from La Caixa all the best in their future development, Mr Westerlaken concluded.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and is expected to close within the next few months.