Ageas to buy UK insurance platform esure for $1.7 billion

(Reuters) -Ageas has agreed to buy British car and home insurer esure from Bain Capital for 1.3 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) in a move that will create the third largest personal lines platform in the UK, the Belgian insurance company said on Monday.

The deal will allow British division Ageas UK to widen its target customer demographics and grow its revenues to 3.25 billion pounds by 2028, while improving its digital capabilities through esure's largely online offering that is well placed on price comparison websites.

"esure is a significant addition ... As demand for motor and home insurance grows, Ageas will be perfectly positioned to gain market share and become the insurer of choice for our existing and new customers," Ageas UK CEO Ant Middle said in the press release.

In 2024, esure generated more than 1 billion pounds of gross written premium, Ageas said.

The transaction, to be financed by a mix of cash, debt and equity, is expected to be finalised in the second half of 2025. The integration of Ageas UK and esure set to be completed during Ageas' current strategic cycle running through 2027.

"Entering the next strategic period, we project that the transaction will generate a full cost saving potential in excess of 100 million pounds per annum, before tax," Ageas said.

It also expects the deal to yield an uplift of more than 1 percentage point to its return on equity, on a run-rate basis.

($1 = 0.7632 pounds)

(Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega in Gdansk; Editing by Tom Hogue and Milla Nissi)