Athora abandons plans to buy German run-off insurance portfolio from Axa

MUNICH (Reuters) - Athora Holding has given up on plans to buy a German portfolio of run-off life insurance policies from the French insurer AXA, it said on Thursday.

The parties announced the sale of the portfolio, with a volume of 16 billion euros ($17.13 billion), for 660 million euros in 2022.

But Athora, which describes itself as a savings and retirement services group, said on Thursday that financial conditions had changed, and it had mutually agreed with AXA not to pursue the deal for the portfolio of policies that is known as "run-off" because it is not taking on any new business.

Interest rates have risen sharply since the deal was announced, making it less attractive for Axa to sell at the agreed price.

Axa said it would keep the portfolio, and Germany's financial regulator said it was a business decision and declined to comment.

($1 = 0.9338 euros)

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner; writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Jan Harvey and Sandra Maler)