Insurance giant Aviva has sold its remaining stakes in two Spanish businesses for 202m euro (£178m).
The company, a member of the EDP/EADT Top 100 list of largest companies by turnover in Norfolk and Suffolk, offloaded its shares in joint ventures Cajamurcia Vida and Caja Granada Vida to Bankia.
Aviva said the deal represented 2.1 times is share of the asset value and would result in a £150m increase in its capital surplus.
The move comes following the restructuring of the Spanish banking system in 2010 which has seen the insurer, which employs more than 5,000 people in Norwich, sell its interest in several businesses with combined proceeds adding up to 1.6bn euro (£1.3bn).
Aviva group chief executive Mark Wilson said: 'This sale is a strong return for our shareholders. It means that over the past five years we have generated proceeds of £1.3bn from selling almost all of our Spanish operations. The transaction further simplifies Aviva, strengthens our already healthy capital position and is another example of our focus on attractive, growing markets where we have high quality franchises.'
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