WINTERTHUR GROUP TO ACQUIRE COLONIAL’S UK OPERATION

Switzerland’s Winterthur Group said today that it is to acquire the UK subsidiary of Australian insurance and banking group Colonial in a SFr816m deal. The Colonial UK operation, which has about 400,000 customers, will be integrated into the Swiss group’s Winterthur Life UK unit. The sale had been widely expected after Colonial, which is merging with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, disclosed that it was seeking a buyer for the UK operation. A Colonial spokesman noted that it was possible the sale to Winterthur would only be completed after the merger had been completed with Commonwealth Bank. Colonial UK, which operates in the life and pensions sectors, had an embedded value of A$860m at the end of 1999.