Sydney  - National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) on Monday won a bidding war for the Australian operations of British insurer Aviva plc.

Aviva, keen to raise capital to shore up its balance sheet, agreed to an offer of 825 million Australian dollars (660 million US dollars) from NAB.

In a statement to the stock exchange, NAB said the acquisition would add 12 billion Australian dollars to its funds under management. (dpa)