Seguros Colpatria SA, a Colombian insurance provider, is weighing a sale that may fetch $500 million, said people familiar with the matter.
Seguros Colpatria, which provides fire, earthquake, liability and other types of coverage, engaged Zurich-based UBS AG to seek a buyer, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Companies including Ace Ltd., Prudential Financial Inc. and MetLife Inc. may be interested, said the people.
The potential sale comes as diversified insurance firms in the U.S. and Europe seek acquisitions in developing regions such as Latin America to help make up for slowing growth at home. Ace, based in Zurich, this year acquired Mexican insurance assets from Ally Financial Inc., while MetLife agreed in February to buy a Chilean pension manager from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA.
Officials at Bogota-based Seguros Colpatria didn’t respond to requests for comment. Spokesmen at UBS, Ace and Newark, New Jersey-based Prudential declined to comment, while a representative for New York-based MetLife didn’t respond to requests for comment.
With assistance from Zachary Tracer in New York and Oscar Medina in Bogota. Editors: Julie Alnwick, Dan Kraut