Basel, 29 October 2024. At the investor update on 12 September, Baloise announced that it would be concentrating on the high-margin areas of its business as a result of the refocusing strategy. With this in mind, and following an extensive review, Baloise is selling its portfolio holdings in digital insurer FRIDAY to Allianz Direct Versicherungs-AG.
As part of its refocusing strategy, Baloise will in future focus on highly profitable segments in which our operations are at an appropriate scale. The FRIDAY portfolios in Germany and France will therefore be sold to Allianz. Baloise has studied various options at great length and has come to the conclusion that a transaction with a strong digital insurer is the best solution.
Baloise CEO Michael Müller commented on the transaction as follows: “We no longer believe that we are the best owners to take the digital insurer forward. Economic conditions have changed and the German and French markets for digital insurance are highly competitive. Although FRIDAY has built up a high level of market recognition, we believe that there are too few opportunities for us to achieve profitable growth with FRIDAY in the current environment.”
Allianz Direct Versicherungs-AG is acquiring the portfolios with a total premium volume of around CHF 50 million. FRIDAY’s operations will therefore be discontinued in the medium term. We expect the deal to be closed in mid-2025. The majority of FRIDAY’s staff will continue to be employed until the transaction has been completed, with some staff being retained beyond that date in order to ensure that the transition of the portfolios is seamless. The brand name FRIDAY will no longer be used.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. We anticipate a one-off negative impact on earnings of around CHF 75 million, most of which will be recognised in 2024.
The transaction is subject to approval by the competent supervisory authority.
Important dates
- Wednesday, 20 November 2024: Q3 2024 interim statement
About Baloise
The focus is firmly on the future at Baloise. We aim to make tomorrow more straightforward, safer and more carefree for our customers, and we are taking responsibility for this today. Baloise is more than just a traditional insurance company. Through our smart finance and insurance solutions, we offer a complete service package. Dependable support, reliable cooperation and trust-based relationships are key aspects of our stakeholder interaction. We take care of financial matters so that our customers can concentrate on the important things in their lives and can find inspiration in the everyday. Baloise, a European company founded more than 160 years ago, currently employs 8,000 people at its headquarters in Basel (Switzerland) and across its subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. Our services generated a business volume of around CHF 8.6 billion in 2023. Baloise Holding Ltd shares (BALN) are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
