AXA, Europe's second-biggest insurer, has agreed to buy property and casualty insurance company XL Group for around $15 billion.
AXA said the deal would create a world leader in its particular sector.
The company is offering $57.60 for each XL share, representing a premium of 33% to XL's closing share price on March 2. The total consideration for the deal would amount to $15.3 billion.
"This transaction is a unique strategic opportunity for AXA to shift its business profile from predominantly life and savings business to predominantly property and casualty business," AXA's chief executive Thomas Buberl said.
"It will enable the group to become the number 1 global property and casualty commercial lines insurer based on gross written premiums," the CEO added.
AXA, which ranks as Europe's second-biggest insurer in terms of market capitalisation behind Germany's Allianz, said it would finance the XL deal via debt, cash and the proceeds of the forthcoming flotation of its US unit.
It added it expected the XL takeover to be cash accretive, and to result in cost synergies of around $400m a year, based on pre-tax earnings.
AXA also reaffirmed its 2020 financial targets, under which the French insurer aims to increase earnings per share by 3 to 7% a year over the 2016-2020 period.
