IPE.com 13/Dec: FRANCE – Dutch life assurance giant Aegon has raised its stake in French mutual life assurer La Mondiale Participations to 35% from 20%.
Aegon said the extended partnership “allows both groups to take advantage of the acknowledged growth opportunities in the French and European pension markets.”
La Mondiale, a subsidiary of La Mondiale Mutuelle, specialises in pensions and life assurance. Ranked eighth in the French life market in 2003, it is active in France, French overseas territories, Luxembourg and Spain. The mutual is one of France’s most financially sound life companies, currently being rated A+ by Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.
Responding to the strong growth in European pensions markets, Aegon and La Mondiale set up the first specialised European group pension network (Aegon Pension Network) during the first two years of their partnership. Both parties yesterday said they wanted to develop a specialised platform in Luxembourg aimed at expatriates.
Deploying Aegon’s expertise, La Mondiale became the first company in France to successfully develop worksite marketing, a new distribution channel targeting employees at their places of work with pensions and long-term savings products.
“This enhanced partnership with La Mondiale reaffirms our common vision of the business opportunities in the European pension markets", says Aegon’s executive board chairman Donald Shepard.
Patrick Peugeot, chairman and chief executive of the French mutual, says: “This agreement enables us to share our respective experiences in the area of pensions and to develop profitable activities together.”
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