AIA announces transformational deal in New Zealand and Australia

Acquires CommInsure and Sovereign, enters long-term distribution partnership with CBA and ASB

AIA announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire CommInsure in Australia and Sovereign in New Zealand. It will also enter into 20-year strategic bancassurance arrangements with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) in Australia and ASB Bank (ASB) in New Zealand. Subject to regulatory approvals, the acquisition is expected to be completed in 2018.

The acquisition and partnership agreement will deliver a range of important benefits to AIA and our stakeholders, including:

• It will make AIA the leading life insurer in both Australia and New Zealand’s profitable individual life protection segment
• It will be immediately accretive to AIA’s earnings
• It will add to AIA’s strength in retail and group insurance by materially expanding and strengthening AIA’s distribution capabilities and customer reach to CBA and ASB’s combined base of 13 million customers

AIA Australia and New Zealand CEO, Damien Mu said: “The scale and nature of the agreements with CBA and ASB represent an enormous step forward for AIA in the pursuit of our purpose to make a difference in people’s lives, and will significantly transform and expand our market leading presence in Australia and New Zealand.”

“By partnering with CBA and ASB, we can bring together the expertise of each organisation to further improve our offering to help champion Australia and New Zealand to be the healthiest and most protected nations in the world. This is an excellent outcome for all customers that we help not only through financial protection, but also by improving their health and wellbeing.”

Mr Mu said, “We have a strong history of building trusted, engaging and enduring partnerships with leading financial institutions in Australia, New Zealand and across the region. We look forward to welcoming our new team members from CommInsure and Sovereign in due course, and to building a successful partnership with CBA and ASB. We remain absolutely committed to our existing partners, and will be focused on ensuring that we continue to deliver the best possible outcomes for them and their customers.”

AIA Regional Chief Executive, Bill Lisle, said: “AIA Group is deeply committed to Australia and New Zealand and we are excited about our future in both markets, particularly in light of the highly attractive agreement we have announced today. We have a high performing and very experienced team in Australia and New Zealand, which is part of AIA Group, one of the largest and strongest life insurance companies in the world. We look forward to ensuring that the acquisition and bancassurance partnerships we have agreed to with CBA and ASB generate very positive and enduring benefits for our customers in both markets and indeed all of our stakeholders.”

Theresa Gattung, Chair of AIA Australia, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for AIA Australia to further strengthen our leading positions in both markets and to serve our customers. We have a great team, and we look forward to expanding on this with the Sovereign and CommInsure teams in due course, and building our partnership with CBA and ASB. I would also like to thank my fellow Board Members Peter Yates, Elizabeth Flynn and Paul Costello for their contribution and support during this time.”