Mouvement Desjardins acquiring State Farm

MONTREAL -- The State Farm Canada business is being acquired by Desjardins, which expects to gain about 1.2 million customers in several provinces.

The Quebec-based financial co-operative will operate the business as a separate unit with about 1,700 State Farm employees and 500 agents.

Desjardins says it expects the deal to close in about a year, in January 2015, after going through the regulatory review process.

It expects to become Canada's second-largest provider of property and casualty insurance, which includes home and auto coverage.