Sabancı Holding, one of Turkey's largest conglomerates, sold half of its 62 percent share in the country's fourth largest non-life insurance company, Aksigorta, to Belgian Ageas for $220 million before the weekend.
Bart de Smet, the CEO of Belgium's largest insurer, said they are happy to enter the "rapidly developing Turkish market" with Sabancı Holding at a signing ceremony held on Friday in İstanbul.
Having a 180-year corporate history, Ageas is also one of the foremost insurance companies in Europe. After the sale, Hakan Akbaş, president of Sabancı Holding's Insurance Services Group, stated their joint activities with Ageas would continue under the name of Aksigorta. "Aksigorta with the new partner Ageas will be a pioneer of consolidation in the insurance sector, and the company will grow with new acquisitions," said Akbaş. Akbaş also noted that they are aiming for rapid growth in line with their strategic targets with Ageas in the fields of health and the bank insurance model.
