...November 4, 2021 - On Oct. 28, 2021, La Banque Postale (LBP) announced its intention to acquire the 37% of CNP Assurances' (CNP's) minority shareholdings that it does not already own for 21.9 per share (5.6 billion in total), making the insurance business a cornerstone of La Poste (LP) group. - With a reported return on equity (RoE) of 7.4% for first-half 2021, CNP is LP's most profitable and resilient business and we estimate that, once fully owned, it will account for more than 50% of the group's operating profits through the cycle. - CNP's stand-alone performance has also improved beyond our previous expectations due to strong earnings and an increasing mix of capital-light unit-linked and protection insurance products. - The cash outflow related to the acquisition is manageable at the group level, but according to our capital metric it will lead to a material capital depletion at LBP, CNP's intermediate owner. - In addition, we think the current strong economic rebound and reduced uncertainty...
