CNP to buy 50.1 pct of Marfin insurance units

PARIS (Reuters) - French insurer CNP (CNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday it would buy a 50.1 percent stake in the insurance businesses of Marfin Popular Bank MRBt.AT CPBC.CY, as CNP continues to expand in southern Europe.

CNP said it would pay Marfin Popular Bank (MPB) an initial amount of 145 million euros. It could then pay a further 20 million euros based on the business performance of the Marfin insurance arms.

The deal will also involve a pre-dividend payable to Marfin of another 20 million euros.

The two companies have also agreed on a 10-year renewable distribution agreement.

"We should also have opportunities to create value together not only in Greece and Cyprus but also in other countries where MPB is already present, such as Romania, Ukraine and Serbia," CNP Chief Executive Gilles Benoist said in a statement.

"Moreover, the agreement is fully aligned with our Horizon 2012 strategy which focuses external growth in three priority markets: southern Europe, Central Europe/Eastern Europe/Mediterranean Arc and Latin America," he added.

Under its five-year "Horizon 2012" plan unveiled earlier this year, CNP aims to make acquisitions abroad and to double its gross operating profit between 2008 and 2012.

CNP wants about a third of its sales to come from outside its main French market by 2012. CNP recently completed the takeover of Italian insurer Capitalia Vita.

CNP shares closed down 1.2 percent at 73.97 euros. The stock has fallen around 17 percent since the start of 2008, compared with a 24 percent fall in the DJ Stoxx European insurance sector .