MBO not on the table at Groupama

"The group has demonstrated already in France that when they do not receive a proper offer they do not proceed and execute the sale," he said.

"There is no point for the group to under-sell the company at any cost. That is why it will take months to develop and we will see if the group is happy or not in selling based on the interest it has received."

Asked whether he was actively pursuing a management buyout Mr Boisseau stated: "No we are not. To be blunt and honest, today an MBO is not on the table."

He added that it was impossible to say yet what the end result would be and explained: "The group preference is to sell the operation in its entirety but we shall see what comes out of this process."

Market sentiment
Turning to market reaction to the sale, Mr Boisseau claimed brokers were as supportive as ever and that partners were keen the insurer did not stop exploring new opportunities.

"The only concern with them [brokers] is that we are not impacted and distracted from our business focus by what is going on."

He added that if anything, he had had more interraction with brokers on the rating question than the sale.

"Our financial strength is second to none. We have a solvency margin of 200%. Hopefully we will be able to announce our results in the near future which will show that our combined ratio is well below 100% and [producing] record profits.

"The only conclusion that they [brokers] can draw is that this is a solid company they can recommend to their customers."

On the view that brokers would prefer the company to be sold as is, Mr Boisseau said: "That is my favourite option as well."