Axa buys 25 percent stake in German group Aragon

By Eva Kuehnen

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - French insurer Axa (AXAF.PA) bought a 25.01 percent stake in Aragon (A8AG.DE) from the German financial services group's main shareholder, Axa said on Tuesday, strengthening its role in German retirement planning.

Reuters had reported earlier, citing a source close to the matter, that Europe's second-biggest insurer had beat several other international bidders and paid a premium for the stake.

Shares in Aragon, listed in Deutsche Boerse's (DB1Gn.DE) open market segment, ended up 1.7 percent at 27.50 euros, while Axa shares ended down 3.4 percent at 23.00 euros.

"We want to push the company forward and we are pleased to have found a strong and well-funded partner in Axa," Christian Angermayer, co-founder of Aragon and chief executive of Aragon's main shareholder Angermayer, Brumm & Lange group of companies (ABL), told Reuters. ABL still has nearly half of Aragon.

The companies did not disclose any details on the price.

"We plan to grow significantly in the next 12 to 24 months, organically as well as through acquisitions," Angermayer said, adding it was already in talks with potential candidates.

Aragon, an independent financial services group which operates a broad network of brokers offering financial products, was mainly interested in mid-sized companies with a focus on insurance products with 250 to 2,000 staff, he said.

The industry is undergoing a consolidation phase.

In August, life insurer Swiss Life (SLHN.VX) said it had built up a 26.75 percent stake in German financial adviser MLP

(MLPG.DE).

MLP responded by raising its capital by almost 10 percent, placing new shares with Allianz (ALVG.DE), Axa and HBOS's HBOS.L Uberior Ena Ltd in a bid to fend off the possibility of a hostile takeover.

Swiss Life already holds around 97 percent in MLP rival AWD (AWDG.DE) and plans to squeeze out remaining shareholders and delist AWD in 2009.

MLP focuses on selling pension policies to professionals, while AWD sells similar products to less well-off customers.

In a separate transaction earlier on Tuesday, ABL said it bought back a stake of 25 percent plus one share from HCI Capital (HXCIGn.DE), an issuing house for closed-end funds and structured products.

While the two companies agreed not to disclose any details of the deal, HCI said it had paid 19.00 euros per share for the stake in December 2006.

(Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris and Matthias Inverardi in Duesseldorf; Editing by Paul Bolding)