Dexia sells Turkish life insurance unit to MetLife

The sale, part of a deal Dexia struck with the European Commission in return for state aid during the global financial crisis, was expected to close by the end of 2011, the two companies said on Monday.

MetLife, through its Turkish business, will buy Dexia's 99.86 percent stake in DenizEmeklilik, the life insurance and pension subsidiary of DenizBank in Turkey.

Dexia's DenizBank will exclusively sell MetLife's pension and insurance products through its branches for the next 15 years.

MetLife said the deal would add significantly to its business in Turkey, a key growth market.

The U.S. company last year bought global life insurer Alico from American International Group for $16.2 billion to double the contribution of non-U.S. operations to group earnings.

Dexia said the transaction would generate a post-tax capital gain of about 119 million euros.