October 2 (SeeNews) - Austrian insurance group Uniqa, Dutch life insurance and pension company Aegon, and France’s Groupama are interested in buying Romanian insurer BT Asigurari, part of the BT financial group, a Bucharest-based daily reported on Tuesday.
A deal for the sale of BT Asigurari is expected to be struck in the next few months, financial daily Ziarul Fiannciar quoted sources close to the sale talks as saying. The daily estimated the deal’s value at some 70 million euro ($99 million).
You can subscribe to our M&A newsletter here
BT officials declined to comment on the report when contacted by the paper.
Romanian bank Banca Transilvania owns 79.88% of BT Asigurari and investment fund SIF Banat Crisana has a 10% stake. Romanian and foreign individuals hold the balance. The BT financial group comprises Banca Transilvania, BT Leasing, BT Direct, BT Securities, BT Asset Management and BT Asigurari.
BT Asigurari’s first-half gross premium income rose by 44% on the year to 132.3 million lei ($56 million/39 million euro). The insurer expects its gross premium income to rise by 50% this year to 300 million lei. It doubled its gross premium income last year to 211 million lei.
Aegon and Uniqa are already present on the Romanian market. In January Aegon and Banca Transilvania agreed to jointly set up a pension company, BT Aegon Fond de Pensii. In June Uniqa secured a controlling stake in Romanian insurer Astra-Uniqa.
(1 euro = 3.3528 Romanian lei)