Generali to Return €500 Million to Investors in Share Buyback

Assicurazioni Generali SpA will return €500 million [$541.4 million] to shareholders, following acquisitions last year that are set to boost its non-life and asset management businesses.

The share buyback plan will be submitted for shareholder approval in April and started this year, the insurer said in a statement on Tuesday.

Chief Executive Officer Philippe Donnet is focusing on insurance segments with high margins as he seeks to return as much as €5.6 billion [$6.1 billion] to shareholders through dividends in the period 2022 to 2024. The executive is expanding in asset management as well as casualty and property insurance.

Last year, the firm agreed to acquire a group of European businesses from US insurer Liberty Mutual Holding Co. for €2.3 billion [$2.5 billion] and to buy Conning Holdings Ltd. by signing a partnership accord with Cathay Life, a unit of Cathay Financial Holding Co.

The acquisition of Liberty Seguros will contribute over €250 million [$270.7 million] annually to Generali’s pre-tax profit by 2029, it said in the statement. The firm also said it expects to achieve annual synergies between €70 million and €80 million [$75.8 million and $86.6 million] and from the Conning deal within five years.

“Recent acquisitions have further strengthened Generali’s position as a leading European insurer and expanded our asset management business globally,” Donnet said in the statement. The proposed share buyback is a “result of our confidence in both completing our plan and in the group’s cash and capital position.”

Photograph: An Assicurazioni Generali SpA’s logo sits in a window of its offices in Rome, Italy, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Photo credit: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg