GUARDIAN Royal Exchange has agreed the terms of a £3.4 billion takeover bid by French insurance giant Axa. It outbid rivals Royal & Sun Alliance and Eureko, a consortium of seven European insurers, for GRE.

The French insurance group made its bid through its UK subsidiary Sun Life and Provincial Holdings, in which it holds a 71.6% stake. GRE announced it had accepted the bid on February 1. GRE shareholders will be offered cash and shares in Sun Life and Provincial, which will become the third largest UK insurer behind CGU and Royal & Sun Alliance.