Grawe: Asiban and BT Asigurari are takeover targets

Grawe, a life insurance firm part of Austrian group that shares the same name, is likely to complete the acquisition of a top 10 insurance firm in September or October, Peter Kasyk, Grawe general manager, told ZF.
At the start of July, Kasyk told ZF in an interview that he was negotiating the takeover of a company selling both life and general insurance, and was in talks with the shareholders of two companies.
“In general, the takeover targets on the market are Asiban and BT Asigurari. However, I cannot say whether we’ll buy one of these companies because this is an ongoing process,” stated the general manager of Grawe.
He believes Asiban is worth around 100m euros and BT Asigurari around 70m euros.
In 2006, Asiban was the fourth largest insurer in Romania and is currently controlled by four banks: BCR, BRD-SocGen, Banca Transilvania and CEC, each with a 25% stake. This year, BCR, BRD-SocGen and Banca Transilvania announced they wanted to sell their stakes, with CEC considering taking them over, according to some recent statements made by the chairman of the institution, Radu Ghetea.
Rothschild European investment bank is the sales consultant for the three banks, with the legal side of the deal being handled by the law firm Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii.
In 2006, Asiban underwrote gross premiums worth around 124m euros and generated a net income valued at 0.5m-euro. According to market sources, the shareholders of BT Asigurari have also put the firm up for sale, which a due diligence process being conducted at the moment. BT ranked tenth last year on the insurance market and registered a 60m-euro turnover, with losses of 2m euros.
In case it takes over Asiban or BT Asigurari, Grawe would seal one of the biggest deals on the market.
At the same time, Grawe is set to sell mandatory private pensions (pillar II) for BT Aegon, a joint venture between BT and Aegon Dutch group, after a partnership was signed between the two companies.
Mandatory pensions will be distributed via a pensions broker recently set up by Grawe, which intends to employ around 2,500 marketing agents by mid-September. The creation of Grawe Pension Services involved investments worth around 50,000 euros, with the company’s revenues expected to reach 100,000 euros this year, according to Peter Kasyk.
BT Aegon’s pillar II fund, recently authorised by the Private Pension System Supervision Commission, carries a medium risk profile and will invest 70% of funds in T-bills and bonds and 30% in securities. BT Aegon representatives estimate they will attract between 300,000 and 500,000 customers and gain a 10-15% market share by the yearend. So far, the Dutch group and Banca Transilvania have invested 7m euros in the development of the private pension company.

Grawe’s plans
Could conclude the acquisition of a top 10 insurance firm in September or October
It is unclear, as yet, whether Grawe will acquire Asiban or BT Asigurari, the two currently available takeover targets on the market
Grawe is set to sell mandatory private pensions (pillar II) for BT Aegon, a joint venture between BT and the Dutch group Aegon
Mandatory pensions will be distributed through a pensions broker recently set up by Grawe