Nordea has agreed to acquire Topdanmark Forsikring’s life and pensions business, Topdanmark Life, for €270m.

Topdanmark Life is a life and pension company in Denmark with assets under management of around €12bn at the end of 2021 and has approximately 225,000 customers.

The agreed price for Topdanmark Life is around €270m after a pre-completion dividend has been distributed to Topdanmark, representing an estimated P/E multiple of approximately 13x projected 2022 net earnings. The price will be adjusted for earnings accrued up to closing. The transaction is expected to absorb up to 2bp of CET1 capital and will deliver a small increase in the Nordea Group’s earnings per share and return on equity.

Nordea said that the acquisition fits with its strategic plan to grow in profitable business segments and build scale in the savings business. It will strengthen Nordea’s offering to retail customers in the life and pension segment in Denmark, which is the second-largest life and pension market in the Nordics.

Nordea head of asset and wealth management, Snorre Storset, said: “We are pleased to announce this acquisition. Topdanmark Life is a very good strategic fit and increases our exposure to the Danish retail savings market. We know Topdanmark from our current collaboration in non-life insurance and are looking forward to developing the Topdanmark Life business in Nordea.

“Going forward, our Danish customers will benefit from our market-leading banking and savings offering. We will provide Nordea’s customers with Topdanmark Life products through our top-rated digital platforms and broad branch network.”

Topdanmark Life will be integrated into Nordea and operated under the Nordea brand.

“For many years we have had an advantage by running both non-life insurance and life insurance within the Topdanmark Group benefiting both customers and shareholders. Nordea has the right requisites and ambitions to operate and further develop Topdanmark Life. We will continue to sell life insurance solutions, with the difference that in the future they will be from Nordea. We are looking forward to strengthening the strategic partnership between Nordea and Topdanmark,” Topdanmark CEO, Peter Hermann, said.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and closing is expected in the second half of 2022.

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