QUEBEC CITY, Feb. 6, 2002 – Industrial-Alliance Life Insurance
Company announced today that it has acquired ISL-Lafferty Securities Inc. and certain
assets of BNP (Canada) Securities Inc., thereby marking its entry onto the stock brokerage
scene. These two acquisitions will allow Industrial Alliance to manage initial assets of
more than $180 million on behalf of some 1,500 clients.
“We are extremely pleased to acquire these two
brokerage operations as they will allow us to benefit from the experience of firms that
are well established in the stock brokerage market”, stated Normand Pépin, who is
Executive Vice-President, Life Subsidiaries and Vice-President and General Manager,
Individual Insurance and Annuities at Industrial Alliance. “This sector represents an
entirely new venue for Industrial Alliance. We’ve been trying to pierce this market for
some time in order to complement our life and health insurance and investment funds
operations. The acquisition of these stock brokerage firms falls straight within the scope
of our development strategy, which is aimed at providing a full range of financial
products to our agents so that they can in turn offer effective and integrated wealth
management services to their clients.”
Both ISL-Lafferty Securities and BNP (Canada) Securities
are full service stock brokerage firms which offer a complete spectrum of portfolio
investment management services to a clientele that is composed mainly of individual and
small business investors. ISL-Lafferty Securities came into being in 1970 and is a member
of the TSE and the Montreal Exchange. Its principal shareholder is the Ionian Financial
Group, which holds 90% of the company’s issued and outstanding common stock. BNP (Canada)
Securities has been operating in Canada since 1991 and is owned exclusively by BNP
(Canada) Paribas, which is itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas, one of the
largest banking groups in the world. Both firms are registered with the Quebec Securities
Commission and licensed to operate in the province of Quebec.
“The acquisition of ISL-Lafferty by Industrial
Alliance is excellent news for our clients and representatives, who will be able to take
full advantage of the expertise and solidity of a nationwide company,” commented
Strato Gavriil, who is the acting president and CEO at ISL-Lafferty Securities. “The
Laval office, which presently serves as the company’s administrative offices, will be
maintained in order to allow clients and representatives to continue conducting
transactions as they have in the past.”
For its part, BNP (Canada) Paribas is pleased that this
transaction will allow its clients and representatives to ensure, within the Industrial
Alliance family, a continued relationship of trust, as this has always been a priority for
the BNP Paribas group in Canada.
The new organization that will emerge as a result of these
two acquisitions will be called “Industrial Alliance Securities”. Gaétan
Plante, who has extensive experience in the world of banking, insurance and securities,
will be named president of the new company. “We plan to build our team based on our
present core of agents, whose experience and professionalism are already recognized
assets,” stated Mr. Plante. “Not only will we continue to conduct activities
from offices in Laval and Montreal, but we also plan to immediately open an office in Quebec City.”
With these new acquisitions, Industrial Alliance now owns
subsidiaries in several key financial sectors, including life and health insurance,
investment funds, trust companies, securities and general insurance. Industrial Alliance
clients can therefore access a full range of products in the area of life and health
insurance, savings and retirement plans, RRSPs, mutual funds, segregated funds and
eventually securities such as stocks and bonds.
Today’s acquisition announcements are subject to the approval of regulatory
authorities and both transactions are expected to be closed by the end of February.
ABOUT THE INDUSTRIAL ALLIANCE GROUP
The Industrial Alliance Group is among the most solid and steadfast financial institutions
in the country, where it is an undisputed industry leader in the field of insurance and
financial services. The Group has operations across Canada through Industrial Alliance in
Quebec City and its subsidiaries, including IA Pacific Life in Vancouver and National Life
in Toronto. The seventh largest life and health insurance company in Canada, the
Industrial Alliance Group insures over 1.5 million Canadians, employs more than 2,000
people and manages over $14.7 billion in total assets. Industrial Alliance stock is listed
on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “IAG”. It is also listed
on the TSE 300 and TSE 100, ranking Industrial Alliance as one of the 100 largest
companies in Canada. For more information on Industrial Alliance, please visit our
corporate website at www.inalco.com.
