VIENNA INSURANCE Group closes transaction with ERSTE Group
 Following approval by the relevant competition and local regulatory authorities in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, the Vienna Insurance Group has successfully completed the acquisition of the insurance operations of ERSTE Group Bank AG in Austria and in Central and Eastern Europe according to plan. A crucial part of the deal is a long-term distribution agreement, which provides the Vienna Insurance Group with access to the nationwide sales network of ERSTE Group, consisting of more than 16 million customers and over 2,900 branches. In return, ERSTE Group will obtain access to the approximately 10 million customers of the Vienna Insurance Group in those countries in which both partners are currently active.
"With the successful conclusion of this acquisition and the distribution agreement we can continue even more strongly on our course of continued growth", Gunter GEYER, CEO of the VIENNA INSURANCE Group explains. "The VIENNA INSURANCE Group thus becomes the number 1 amongst the internationally active insurers in this region. The mutually beneficial distribution agreement provides a robust foundation for both financial groups to jointly benefit to an even greater extent from the dynamic growth in the CEE markets".
The mutual distribution agreement has been concluded for a 15-year period and forms the basis for a close sales cooperation between ERSTE Group and VIENNA INSURANCE Group. Both corporate groups are committed to preferentially distribute the products of the other partner via their sales networks. The already concluded local distribution agreements forming the basis of the cooperation between VIENNA INSURANCE Group companies and ERSTE Group companies underline expectations with respect to the positive contributions of the new Group companies to the overall results of the VIENNA INSURANCE Group.
The total value of the transaction amounts to EUR 1,445 million.
In Romania, the VIENNA INSURANCE Group acquires, subject to official approvals, approximately 88.5 percent of the shares in the life insurance company BCR Life and the non-life insurer BCR Asigurari. Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR) will retain 5 percent of the Romanian life insurer. The remaining holdings of both companies are owned by minority shareholders. In 2007, premium volumes for life insurance were EUR 23 million; for non-life insurance the figure was EUR 155.2 million. With its insurance companies, Vienna Insurance Group was already the number one in the Romanian insurance market.
Author: Andreea IONETE
on 17.09.2008
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