Viridium is engaged in buying old books of life insurance policies for other insurance companies. Credit: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.

Cinven, a UK-based private equity company, is looking to sell life insurance company Viridium, reported Reuters, citing sources.

The investment company has hired Fenchurch Advisory and Goldman Sachs to gauge investor interest in the insurer.

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Based in Germany, Viridium is engaged in buying old books of life insurance policies for other insurance companies.

Viridium is majority-owned by Cinven, with insurance companies Assicurazioni Generali and Hannover Re owning the minority stakes.

It is not known if the minority stakeholder would also sell its stake alongside Cinven if the deal materialises.

As the talks are at an early stage, the plan could still change or even be scrapped, the sources added.

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Viridium, Generali, Goldman Sachs, BaFin and Cinven all declined to comment on the development, the news agency said, adding that requests for comments from Fenchurch did not elicit a response.

The news comes after Eurovita, another insurer owned by Cinven, was placed under administration by the Italian authorities earlier this year due to heavy customer outflow.

At the end of 2022, Viridium managed assets totalling €65bn ($68.02bn) and oversaw 3.6 million policies.

In June 2022, the life insurer agreed to buy €21bn worth of assets from Zurich Insurance Group.

The deal is pending approval from the German financial watchdog BaFin.

Last month, it was reported that BaFin was considering blocking the transaction.

At the time, Viridium said that the collapse of Eurovita had complicated the deal.

According to the sources, a formal stake sale by Cinven could begin as soon as BaFin finishes up the assessment of a planned portfolio acquisition by Viridium.

Last week, Cinven agreed to purchase €160m worth of Eurovita’s debt to avoid liquidation of the Italian life insurance company.

In February 2023, Cinven invested €100m in Eurovita to bolster its capital base.