Italy’s Fondaria Launches Buyout Bid for Serbian Insurer DDOR

Fondiaria intends to buy out the remaining 352,701 shares, equal to 16.68% of DDOR's total equity, at a price of 10,336.32 dinars ($175/128 euro) per share, Fondiaria said in a statement to Serbia’s Central Securities Depository and Clearing House late on Wednesday. The offer will be valid from October 9 until October 29.

DDOR stock rose 1.18% to 9,500 dinars on the Belgrade bourse on Wednesday. Fondiaria's statement was posted on the website of the Central Securities Depository and Clearing House after the trading hours. Thursday's prices for the stock were not immediately available.

In 2007, DDOR had a premium revenue of 11.57 billion dinars and a net profit of 163 million dinars, the statement said. It gave no comparative figures.

Serbia's government sold in November its 83.32% stake in DDOR to Fondiaria for 220 million euro ($302 million). The remainder is in the hands of minority shareholders. 

The leader on the Serbian insurance market is the majority state-owned Dunav Osiguranje company. Together, Dunav Osiguranje and DDOR controlled 60.9% of the Serbian market in the third quarter of 2007, according to the latest data available from the country’s central bank.

(1 euro= 81.0184 dinars)