British insurer Admiral said today the price comparison arm of Zoopla Property Group will buy its Penguin Portals and Preminen businesses that include online portal Confused.com in a deal valued at £508m.
Zoopla's RVU will acquire Penguin Portals, which also includes Rastreator.com, LeLynx.fr and Admiral's technology operation, and its 50% share in Preminen Price Comparison Holdings.
Global insurer MAPFRE will also sell its 25% stake in Rastreator and 50% holding in Preminen to RVU as part of the deal.
The deal excludes Admiral's US comparison business compare.com and is expected to slightly lower its future earnings. It will result in proceeds of around £450m for the company.
Admiral, which has benefited from a drop in motor insurance claims due to coronavirus-related curbs on transportation, said it expects to return most of the proceeds to shareholders and use a portion to develop new business.
