Fosun pays $1.36b to buy Portugese insurer Caixa
China's Fosun International has acquired an 80% stake in Caixa Seguros e Saúde (CSS), the insurance unit of Portugese state bank Caixa Geral de Depositos SA for EUR1 billion ($1.36 billion), beating out Apollo Management International.
Portugal is selling the company as a condition of a EUR78 billion European Union bailout, which requires the government to dispose of assets and raise revenue. Fosun International - the investment arm of China's biggest industrial group - will purchase the stake with its own funds.
Founded in 1835, CSS is the largest insurance holding company in Portugal. It had total assets of EUR13 billion and net assets of EUR1.4 billion as of the end of 2012.
"The acquisition is another good implementation of Fosun's investment model of ‘Combining China's Growth Momentum with Global Resources' and it will further expand Fosun's insurance business," said Fosun in a statement. "It will evolve into another milestone in Fosun's globalization development."
Fosun - which is targeting $1 billion for its Chinese Momentum Fund that will invest in foreign companies seeking to expand in China - has made a number of European investments over the past year. In September it agreed to buy a 35% stake in Italian menswear brand Caruso. It also acquired a stake in French-based vacation resorts operator Club Méditerranée (Club Med) through a joint venture with Ardian, formerly Axa Private Equity.
Other investments include Danish electronics manufacturer Bang & Olufsen and Greek jeweler Folli Follie Group.
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