Ty holding firm sells life insurance unit for P2.3B

Conglomerate GT Capital Holdings Inc. has consolidated its non-life insurance business Charter Ping An Insurance Corp. into the group’s life insurance arm Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp. (AXA), boosting the portfolio available for cross-selling.

GT Capital, which is led by the Ty family, agreed to sell its 100-percent stake in Charter Ping An—a leading local nonlife insurer that provides fire, motor car, marine cargo, personal accident, bonds, casualty and engineering insurance products—to AXA for P2.3 billion.

“We are very excited about this development, as now we can offer our customers a complete suite of protection products,” said Rien Hermans, president and chief executive of AXA Philippines.

“We have been growing our business steadily and aggressively in life insurance the past several years, making us a top three company for years now,” Hermans added. “With the entry into nonlife insurance, we see AXA Philippines building on the top five position of Charter Ping An and definitely become a major player and be a top three company in a few years.”

GT Capital has a 25.3-percent direct interest in AXA while First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), a unit of GT Capital’s banking arm Metropolitan Bank, has a 28.2-percent stake.

“By consolidating its life and nonlife insurance businesses, GT Capital further strengthens its presence in the country’s underpenetrated yet fast-growing insurance industry. We will clearly benefit from the global insurance expertise of AXA, the local market knowledge and network of Charter Ping An, and the cross-selling opportunities among our component companies,” said GT Capital and FMIC chair Francisco Sebastian.

AXA Philippines is affiliated with the Paris-based AXA global financial services group, which is present in 59 countries across the globe.

The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals, and is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2016.

The local unit of AXA operates the second largest life insurance company in the Philippines based on total premium income.