CVC buys Ethniki Insurance in €505m deal

Alessia Argentieri
29 March 2021

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CVC Capital Partners has acquired a 90% stake in Ethniki Insurance, National Bank of Greece’s (NBG) insurance business.

The deal values the entire unit at €505m, including an earn-out payment of up to €120m, which will depend on the performance targets achieved by the bancassurance channel of NBG by 2026. The transaction also includes a 15-year bancassurance partnership.

In March 2020, CVC submitted the only binding offer for the unit, following a long and troubled sale process delayed by the coronavirus outbreak, according to press reports.

The GP has invested in the business via CVC Capital Partners VII, which closed on its €15.5bn hard-cap in June 2017. The vehicle typically targets European and US-based companies with enterprise values between €500m-5bn.

This sale is part of NBG's EU-approved restructuring plan to divest its non-core assets. It will allow the lender to fulfil the commitment made with the European Commision following the receipt of state aid in 2012. As part of this plan, the bank has also sold assets in eastern Europe and Turkey, refocusing its core activity on its domestic banking business.

Company
Ethniki is the insurance division of the National Bank of Greece, the country's largest bank, which is 40% owned by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), Greece's bank rescue fund.

Ethniki specialises in life, health, property and casualty insurance. It also offers saving and investment products.

The company is headquartered in Athens with 48 branches throughout the country, and employs around 1,200 staff.

Advisors
Vendor – Morgan Stanley (corporate finance); Goldman Sachs (corporate finance); Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (legal); Karatzas & Partners (legal); EY (tax); UBS Europe (M&A); Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (legal).
Acquirer – Deutsche Bank (corporate finance); Latham Watkins (legal); Bernitsas Law Firm (legal); BCG (commercial due diligence).