Italian insurance watchdog Ivass has reportedly told life insurer Eurovita to quickly boost its capital reserves.
According to the regulator, the firm will need around €250m (£219m, $249m) to improve its solvency ratio, Reuters reported.
But, the regulatory requirement seems to have prompted the life insurer’s UK-based private equity owner Cinven to seek a fairly quick sale.
Reports state that the PE firm tried to sell the Italian life company last year after engaging with advisers from Deutsche Bank and Citi to find a buyer. The sale reportedly did not go through as bids fell short of a valuation of around €600m-€700m.
Italian newspaper Milano Finanza reported earlier in September 2022 that specialist life insurer Athora was looking to buy Eurovita after entering the Italian market in 2021 by purchasing Amissima Vita.
When contacted by International Adviser, Cinven and Eurovita declined to comment.
In 2019, Eurovita Group acquired fellow Italian life insurer Pramerica Life from US-based Prudential Financial for an undisclosed sum; while more recently Cinven purchased Swedish insurance company Säkra.
