Insurer believed to be considering sale of International wholesale division.
AXA has been tipped to offload the international wholesale division of SBJ, the broker it acquired in March.
It is understood that Lexicon Partners, which advised on the acquisition, would advise on any sale.
Potential suitors include Lloyd’s broker Cooper Gay.
One industry source said: “It’s pretty clear that AXA bought SBJ for its distribution and employee benefits business in the UK. I can’t see AXA wanting to hold on to the international wholesale business in the long term.”
Toby Esser, chief executive of Cooper Gay, confirmed he would be interested in acquiring the SBJ division, but said he was not aware of any current activity.
AXA declined to comment. It acquired the broker for an undisclosed sum in March and integrated it into its broking arm, Venture Preference, in July. The deal took the broking business to £700m gross written premiums.
