BRUSSELS: Belgian insurer Ageas will acquire the remaining 25% stake in its domestic subsidiary AG Insurance from BNP Paribas Fortis for 1.9 billion euros ($2.04 billion), taking full ownership of the market leader and raising its strategic financial targets.
The deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026 pending regulatory approvals, accelerates Ageas’s “Elevate27” plan for a second time this year. The group now aims to generate 2.6 billion euros in free cash flow at the holding level by 2027, up from a previous target of 2.3 billion, and increase shareholder remuneration to 2.2 billion euros from 2 billion.
“Taking full ownership of AG Insurance enables us to further advance our Belgian operations,” Ageas Chief Executive Hans De Cuyper said in a statement.
Concurrently, the companies reaffirmed their long-term bancassurance partnership in Belgium. BNP Paribas Fortis, the Belgian retail banking arm of BNP Paribas, and AG signed a new 15-year distribution agreement starting in 2027.
As part of the broader agreement, BNP Paribas will remain Ageas’s largest shareholder under a formal relationship pact that caps its stake at 25% minus one share for five years, affirming Ageas’s operational independence. BNP Paribas will also gain a nominee on the Ageas board.
The transaction to acquire full control of AG, Belgium’s top life and non-life insurer, will be financed through cash reserves, existing facilities, debt markets, and a 1.11 billion euro equity placement to BNP Paribas’s insurance unit Cardif.
Ageas said the deal is expected to deliver a levered return on invested capital of 15-16% and follows its acquisition of UK insurer esure earlier this year, strengthening its core markets.
Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, CEO of BNP Paribas, said the bank sees “significant potential” in the growth of its Belgian bancassurance business through the partnership with AG.