Aviva to sell US division for £1bn

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the US arm, which was bought in 2006 for £1.8bn, is likely to be sold for £1bn.

Pat Regan, chief financial officer at Aviva, is undertood to be spending a considerable amount of time at the US business' Iowa headquarters to prepare for a sale and to supervise the process.

The decision to sell up follows a strategy review led by recently appointed chairman John McFarlane.

Mr McFarlane announced at the beginning of July that the insurer would be withdrawing from