Belgian insurer Ageas has agreed a £1.3bn deal to buy UK-based esure from private equity group Bain Capital for £1.3bn.

Insurance group esure has been owned by Bain since it paid £1.2bn to take the group private in 2018.

The transaction will be financed through a combination of surplus cash and newly issued senior and hybrid debt and/or equity within the existing authorisations and subject to market conditions.

Ageas UK CEO, Ant Middle, said: “esure is a significant addition to the Ageas UK business and aligns perfectly with our growth strategy. As demand for motor and home insurance grows, Ageas will be perfectly positioned to gain market share and become the insurer of choice for our existing and new customers.

“The combined Ageas and esure franchise will benefit from an outstanding customer offering, through market leading technology and prominent brands, that will drive our expansion into new customer demographics. Under Elevate27, we want to continue to grow our broker and partnerships personal lines business in the UK, and esure will help us to rapidly expand our direct distribution, our customer reach, and our scale overall.

“esure’s technical capabilities will match Ageas UK’s and will enable us to develop our well-balanced business at greater pace and serve a wider range of customers. We’re really excited for the potential this brings our UK business and wider group.”

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