LONDON (Reuters) -British insurer Aviva (LON:AV) said on Monday it will re-enter the historic Lloyd's insurance market with a 242 million pound ($307 million) acquisition of insurance platform Probitas.
The deal bolsters Aviva's general insurance business as companies look to capitalise on rising prices, and highlights the ongoing appeal of Lloyd's of London as a global insurance hub.
Aviva will take over Probitas' fully-integrated Lloyd's platform and underwriting unit Syndicate 1492, which generated gross written premiums of 288 million pounds in 2023.
"Aviva's presence in the Lloyd's market opens up new opportunities to accelerate growth in our capital-light General Insurance business," Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc said.
The company was last in the Lloyd's market more than two decades ago, after leaving in 2000 through a business sale.
Analysts at Jefferies said the deal would be accretive to Aviva's non-life insurance margins. Shares in the company were broadly flat at 0935 GMT, compared to a 0.2% dip in the wider FTSE 100 index.
Blanc said in August last year that the insurer was interested in entering the Lloyd's of London commercial market.
Aviva said Probitas' existing management team would continue to run the business and that the brand would be retained.
Aviva is due to present full-year results for 2023 on March 7.
($1 = 0.7890 pounds)