The deal follows the sale of Aviva's Singapore business as Chief Executive Amanda Blanc looks to exit non-core operations in Asia and mainland Europe after a prolonged period of share price weakness irked investors.

As part of the Vita deal, Aviva said a 40 million euro loan provided by Aviva Italia Holding to Aviva Vita would also be repaid in full at completion.

The deal represents a multiple of 8.4 times Aviva Vita's 2019 IFRS profit, the company said, and would increase Aviva's net asset value by 100 million pounds and boost its capital surplus by 200 million pounds.

"Our strategy is about focus and delivery. The sale of Aviva Vita is another important step forward as we reshape our portfolio," Blanc said in the statement.

The other Italian businesses being evaluated are Aviva SpA, a 51% owned life insurance joint venture with UniCredit; fully owned life insurer Aviva Life and fully owned general insurer Aviva Italia.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop, editing by Huw Jones)

By Simon Jessop