RSA appoints Goldman for sale of Asia division

RSA, the FTSE 100 insurer trying to recover from an accounting scandal in Ireland, has appointed Goldman Sachs to handle the sale of its Asia business, estimated to be worth at least £150 million (€188 million).

The insurer, led by former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester, is set to begin a process to sell its operations in Hong Kong, Singapore and China within weeks, people close to the process said.

Disposals programme

RSA has been eyeing a sale of its Asia unit for months as part of a programme of disposals to rebuild its balance sheet and focus more on core operations. RSA and Goldman Sachs both declined to comment yesterday.

The Asia operations wrote about £150 million worth of insurance premiums last year – up about a quarter from the previous year, but still less than 2 per cent of the group’s total.

The people believe the Asia division should be valued at a premium to the annual business it writes, although the target valuation was unclear yesterday.

The sale of the Asia business does not include RSA's joint ventures in India and Thailand, the people said. Andy Hughes, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said this could be valued at another £73 million.

Goldman’s appointment was first reported by Reuters, which cited Sompo and Axa among the potential bidders. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014)