AXA CEO Confirms Talks With DB, Other Players

March 27, 2001

AXA’s CEO Henri de Castries, in an interview with the French financial newspaper La Tribune, confirmed that the French insurer had held talks with Germany’s Deutsche Bank and “other players,” whom he didn’t name, about possible business deals.

AXA is reportedly interested in establishing a cross selling arrangement with DB, and de Castries indicated that it may also be interested in its life insurance subsidiary Deutscher Herold. “Deutsche Bank has a very attractive insurance arm which, should it be up for sale, could interest us,” he was quoted as saying.

AXA’s rival Allianz has been trying to make a similar deal with DB for over a year, ever since the collapse of DB’s merger plans with Dresdner Bank. So far the two German financial titans have failed to reach any agreement, and Allianz was recently reported to have held talks with Merrill Lynch.

While no deals or alliances have yet been concluded, one thing seems clear, both giant insurers are extremely interested in establishing new outlets for their products in Europe through cooperative agreements and acquisitions.

Topics AXA XL

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