The insurer reached an agreement with Ella Holdings Ltd. and its main shareholder Royalton Capital Investors for the purchase of 100% of the Hungarian retail bank, Paris-based Axa SA said today in an e-mailed statement. „The acquisition of Ella, a young and dynamic bank, will accelerate our development in the very promising Hungarian market,” Alfred Bouckaert, head of the Axa northern and eastern Europe region, said in the statement. „Retail banking services are a strategic add-on” to Axa’s insurance offerings, he added. Axa CEO Henri de Castries, who last year led the takeover of Credit Suisse Group‘s Winterthur unit, said in February the insurer is always on the lookout for acquisitions and that it viewed new European Union members in eastern Europe as a „natural territory for expansion.” (Bloomberg)
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
