The takeover of Britain's RSA by Intact will have spinoffs in Quebec

 The takeover of Britain's RSA by Intact will have spinoffs in Quebec


The purchase of the British insurer RSA by Intact Financial Corporation and a Danish partner for CAN $ 12.3 billion will have spinoffs in Quebec since the Ontario company intends to increase its investments in the province in addition to proceeding with hundreds of hires.

Although its head office is in Toronto, a significant proportion of its activities - such as actuarial science, finance, technology and artificial intelligence - are concentrated in Quebec, where Intact has some 5,000 employees in its offices in Montreal. , Anjou, Quebec and Saint-Hyacinthe.

The transaction announced on Wednesday is expected to add 500 RSA employees to the insurer's workforce in the province. In addition, within five years, it plans to recruit at least 500 technology specialists, to increase the size of its team to 1,500 people in this sector, in addition to investing 1.5 billion - or about 50% more than what was originally planned.

"It is clear that the spinoffs are very positive for Quebec, but in particular for cutting-edge sectors where we are recognized among the best in the world", noted the CEO of Intact, Charles Brindamour, during a conference call with media representatives. For example, the addition of the businesses acquired from RSA will double the assets under management of the insurer's Montreal investment management team to $ 40 billion, he added. Quebec could represent a quarter of Intact's global workforce once RSA integration is completed.

Founded over 305 years ago, RSA is one of the oldest insurers in the world. The British company has some 13,500 employees worldwide and around 9 million customers in more than 100 countries.
500
This is the number of RSA employees who will be added to the insurer's Quebec workforce.

Supported by a trio of pension plan managers, including the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Intact will extend $ 5.1 billion to acquire the Canadian, British and international activities and obligations of RSA. Its partner Tryg A / S will take over the divisions in Sweden and Norway for 7.2 billion. The tandem will co-own the activities of RSA in Denmark.

According to Mr. Brindamour, the transaction will consolidate Intact's position in the Canadian market, in addition to setting up a platform for specialized international insurance products and establishing itself in the British and Irish markets. . Annual premiums written are expected to jump 30% to 13 billion.

"When we plan the investments, we get an idea of ​​the envelope," he explained, "with regard to the sum of $ 1.5 billion intended for Quebec. The distribution between design, artificial intelligence and software engineering [...] is changing every year. "

To finance its part of the deal, the Toronto insurer recently completed a private placement of $ 3.2 billion with CDPQ, RPC Investments and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers), which respectively injected 1.5 billion, 1.2 billion and 500 million. Today, the Caisse is already Intact's largest shareholder with an approximate 8.6% stake, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

"For more than 10 years, we have been partners with Intact," said CDPQ President and CEO Charles Émond in a press release. Our investment has generated beneficial returns for our depositors, in part thanks to the Company’s strong track record in integrating acquired businesses. "