BPCE Group to acquire GamaLife to expand bancassurance

BPCE Group, the owner of Novo Banco, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Apax Partners to acquire 100% of the life insurance company GamaLife. While the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals and consultations with worker representative bodies.

The acquisition is part of BPCE’s Vision 2030 strategy to strengthen its bancassurance model in Portugal and Italy. This marks the first acquisition by BPCE Assurances outside of France. GamaLife, which has roots in the former Grupo Espírito Santo, currently holds an 8th place position in the Portuguese life insurance market with a 4% market share. Its policies are distributed through an agreement with Novo Banco.

GamaLife serves approximately 500,000 customers and manages 7.5 billion euros in assets. In 2025, the company recorded 475 million euros in gross premiums issued. Following a restructuring by Apax Partners, the insurer has moved from losses to an accumulated profit of over 540 million euros over the last six years.