Arch buys stake in credit insurer from French bank

(Reuters) —  French bank Natixis said on Tuesday that it had agreed to sell a 29.5% stake in credit insurance company Coface to U.S. company Arch Capital Group.

Natixis said it was selling the Coface stake at a price of €10.70 per share, marking a discount of around 6% to Coface's closing price of €11.38 on Feb. 24.

Natixis will hold 12.2% of Coface following the sale, which would free up 35 basis points for Natixis' core equity tier one capital ratio but generate a one-off goodwill impairment charge of around €100 million ($108.4 million) in the first quarter of 2020.