(Bloomberg) -- The Agnelli family’s Exor NV agreed to sell its PartnerRe reinsurance unit to France’s Covea for $9 billion, reviving a transaction that collapsed at the onset of the pandemic last year. 

Talks broke down in May 2020 when Exor rejected Covea’s request for a discount due to “significant uncertainties threatening the global economic outlook.” 

The acquisition of PartnerRe will help Covea expand beyond home, auto, life and health insurance coverage. Insurers and reinsurers, under pressure from low to negative interest rates, have turned to dealmaking to bolster revenue, including moves into reinsurance and asset management.

Exor and Covea signed a momorandum of understanding, according to a statement on Thursday. The proposed transaction is subject to the consultation of Covea workers councils, the statement added. The two companies aim to ink a final sale agreement by year-end and to complete the transaction in mid-2022.

The sale marks a major deal for Exor just about a year after Fiat Chrysler completed its combination to with PSA Group to create the world’s fourth-biggest carmaker. 

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