2006
(14/09/2006) AXA announces plans for a new approach in the UK to be implemented following completion of the Winterthur acquisition
On June 13, 2006 AXA announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Winterthur Group. Since that time, AXA UK has been reviewing the possibilities for the UK market with a view to planning a smooth and efficient integration of AXA's and Winterthur's businesses following receipt of all required regulatory approvals and completion of the transaction1. While this review is on-going, management of AXA UK has reached the following preliminary views based on its review to date:
- With respect to the individual personal pension and investment segment, our intention would be to run the AXA and Winterthur businesses in parallel, each maintaining its own separate brand as well as product development, marketing, distribution and customer service functions. This structure would create access to all attractive target areas in the UK advisory market because it would permit Winterthur to continue to specialise in its commission-free transparent products, and allow AXA to continue with the development of its wealth management proposition which has broad appeal across the spectrum of intermediaries. Mike Kellard, Chief Executive of Winterthur, will continue in his role and will report to Paul Evans, Chief Executive of AXA Life.
- AXA and Winterthur have similar group pensions businesses with closely-aligned customer bases. AXA Management, therefore, currently believes that the bringing together of these two operations into a focused corporate business unit would be in the best interests of customers and their advisers.
Paul Evans said:
"We believe that our vision for running the AXA and Winterthur businesses in the UK upon completion of this transaction will successfully marry the specialist strengths of Winterthur with AXA's broader proposition and distribution expertise to create a powerful offering to our corporate and wealth management customers. I am delighted that Mike Kellard will continue to lead the Winterthur operation, which he has built into a strongly-performing business. I am also looking forward to developing wider opportunities for Mike as we take the AXA and Winterthur businesses forward in the UK."
Mike Kellard said:
"We believe that our organisational vision following completion of the merger will protect the value of Winterthur's proposition and secure continuous profitable growth through the high net worth advisory channel while benefiting from AXA's comprehensive offering across the market as a whole."
The planning process will continue over the coming months so that the integration can proceed smoothly and quickly once all required regulatory approvals have been obtained and the transaction has been completed which is currently expected on December 31, 2006. Until this happens, both companies will remain separate and compete independent of each other.
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Notes to Editor
- The transaction subject to numerous regulatory approvals, including approval from European Commission, Swiss and US competition authorities, and is currently expected to close on December 31, 2006.
About AXA
AXA UK is part of AXA Group. AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection. AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Western Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. AXA had € 1,091 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2006, and reported total revenues of € 41 billion and underlying earnings of € 2,090 million for the first half of 2006.
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