Admiral Group plc has reached an agreement to sell its Penguin Portals Group which comprises online comparison portals Confused.com, Rastreator.com and LeLynx.fr as well as the Group’s technology operation Admiral Technologies to ZPG Comparison Services Holdings UK Ltd (RVU).
The £508m deal will also see Admiral sell its 50% share of Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd. MAPFRE will also sell its 25% holding in Rastreator and 50% holding in Preminen as part of the transaction.
David Stevens, Group CEO of Admiral Group commented, “The purchase of the UK and European comparison businesses by RVU offers a positive outcome for our customers and our employees, and also provides good value for our shareholders.”
He continued, “Admiral will continue to focus on what Admiral has consistently done well, namely designing and underwriting good value mass market financial service products. Comparison will continue to be Admiral’s most important distribution channel in Europe and we look forward to continuing to work closely with Confused.com, Rastreator and LeLynx as they continue to grow and strengthen the customer offering.”
Tariq Syed, CEO of RVU said, “Penguin Portals offers an exciting opportunity for us to expand our consumer brand portfolio and geographic reach. With its focus on insurance, Confused.com perfectly complements Uswitch’s existing expertise in the home services category, and, with equally established offerings in other countries, we have an opportunity to help even more consumers find the right deals for their needs.”
