SANTALUCÍA has joined the shareholder base of veterinary group UNAVETS, a platform of veterinary clinics with more than 160 centers across Spain and Portugal and over 1,500 professionals, as a minority investor in a transaction that strengthens the company’s positioning and opens up new opportunities for mutual growth and strategic collaboration.
SANTALUCÍA’s entry—one of Spain’s leading insurance groups with more than a century of history and specialized in protection, savings, and family assistance services—comes alongside the continued support of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (Oaktree), the majority shareholder of UNAVETS.
Founded in 1922, SANTALUCÍA is today a benchmark in Spain’s insurance sector, with a strong presence across insurance, assistance services, operations and service provision, and asset management, and with a diversification and innovation strategy focused on delivering comprehensive solutions to its clients.
Oaktree is one of the world’s leading investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $223 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025. The firm applies a value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments across credit, equities, and real estate.
SANTALUCÍA’s entry into UNAVETS’ shareholder base will enable the exploration of significant strategic synergies, particularly in areas such as innovation in animal welfare-related services, the development of insurance and assistance solutions for pets, and the creation of new value propositions for clients and veterinary clinics.
This partnership brings together three organizations with a shared vision of sustainable growth, operational excellence, and customer focus, which will help accelerate UNAVETS’ development in the markets where it operates.
“We are very pleased to welcome SANTALUCÍA as a new shareholder of UNAVETS. Its experience, long-term vision, and strong track record in family services will bring tremendous value to our project,” said Enrique Cardona and Guilherme Assis, CEO and CFO of UNAVETS, respectively.
Andrés Romero, CEO of SANTALUCÍA, highlighted that the investment aligns with the company’s strategy of partnering with innovative businesses with high growth potential: “UNAVETS represents a solid project in a sector with excellent development prospects and is aligned with our strategic plan, which seeks new sources of profitable growth and diversification, expanding our value proposition to meet the needs of families, where pets play a special role. We are very excited to support the company in this new phase.”
Alessandro Della Nina, Senior Vice President of Oaktree in Europe, and Aditi Theilmann, Vice President at Oaktree Capital Management, also welcomed the new partnership and noted that SANTALUCÍA’s participation further strengthens UNAVETS’ shareholder base: “We are delighted to bring on board a strategic partner with SANTALUCÍA’s reputation and capabilities. We share the ambition to support UNAVETS’ continued growth and consolidate its position as a leading veterinary group.”
With this transaction, UNAVETS begins a new phase of growth, backed by top-tier shareholders and with the objective of continuing to expand its network of clinics, strengthen its clinical excellence, and further develop innovative solutions for companion animal care.
Advisors
A multidisciplinary team from KPMG Spain advised Santalucía Seguros on the transaction. The Deal Advisory FIG and KPMG Abogados teams provided financial, legal, public, and regulatory M&A advisory services, as well as carrying out the full due diligence process (financial, tax, labor, and legal).
About SANTALUCÍA
SANTALUCÍA, a full-service insurer with more than 100 years of history, is the parent company of the SANTALUCÍA Group, a provider of protection, savings, and family assistance services. Recognized as one of the insurers with the highest customer satisfaction, it offers a comprehensive value proposition reaching more than 7.4 million policyholders.
As of year-end 2024, the Group has 9,309 employees and a territorial organization with nearly 250 agents, 500 points of sale, and partnerships with more than 1,200 brokerages. The company is also present in Portugal, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina.
Its consolidated revenues amount to €3.422 billion, with total assets of €13.988 billion, equity of €2.036 billion, and a Solvency II ratio of 291%. Written premiums total €2.190 billion, while life technical provisions stand at €6.173 billion. Its non-life combined ratio is 96.4%.
AM Best reaffirmed SANTALUCÍA’s Financial Strength Rating (FSR) at “A” (Excellent) and its Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (ICR) at “a” (Excellent) in November 2024. In July 2025, Fitch upgraded its Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating to “A+” and its issuer rating to “A”, both with a stable outlook.
Its success is based on continuous growth, constant innovation, and business diversification, integrating sustainability into its decision-making in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
According to the latest data published by ICEA, SANTALUCÍA ranks first in funeral and assistance insurance, sixth in home insurance, and eighth in life insurance, positioning itself as the ninth-largest insurance group by direct written premiums
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