QBE sells North America business for $90m
Insurer QBE has agreed to sell its mortgage and lender services business in North America to National General for $90 million.
The sale follows a strategic review of the mortgage and lender services operations which concluded the business is not core to its long term strategy.
Headquartered in New York City, National General is a specialty personal lines insurance holding company founded in 1939.
National General will acquire the business which includes agency operations, loan tracking activity and provision of insurance protection.
The overall impact of the sale on QBE’s 2015 full year net profit before tax is expected to be a loss of around $120 million, primarily due to one-time non-cash charges and write-offs in connection with the transaction.
The sale is expected to free up in excess of $100 million of capital that will be available for reinvestment elsewhere in QBE’s North American operations.
John Neal, QBE Group chief executive officer, said: “As previously advised, we have been evaluating a range of strategic options with regards to the mortgage and lender services business in North America. The sale of this business is a pleasing result as we look to focus on commercial lines and significantly build out our specialty underwriting capabilities in North America.”
