ČESKÁ POJIŠŤOVNA, TOGETHER WITH GENERALI, WILL CREATE THE BIGGEST INSURANCE GROUP IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
Bratislava (April 26 2007) – Group PPF and Generali today announced a common plan for the creation of a common holding enterprise that will link the insurance activities and the related activities of both groups in the region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Česká pojišťovna (ČP), which is the biggest Czech insurance institution, and Generali, the third biggest insurer in Europe, will together create the biggest insurance group in CEE which, in the first phase, will operate in 12 countries. Generali together with Česká pojišťovňa will thus overtake most of their competitors in the region. The current President of the Board of Česká pojišťovňa, Ladislav Bartoníček, will become Managing Director of the newly created holding. The transaction will be realized after obtaining the consent of the supervisory and regulatory authorities on the local markets as well as within the European Union.
Both companies - Česká poisťovňa – Slovensko and Generali Poisťovňa, a.s. - have proved by their previous results that they are successful players on the Slovak market. Until they obtain the consent from the relevant authorities and conclude the transactions, the two companies, Česká poisťovňa and Generali, will continue to perform their activities in the Slovak Republic independently. Once the transaction is complete, the holding company will develop the overall strategy for the activities in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and will decide, among others, what is the most effective approach for using the opportunities for further growth on the Slovak market, whilst making the most effective use of the capacities of both, Generali and Česká poisťovňa. Both holding partners will consider all the possibilities for using the brands Generali and Česká poisťovňa in future.
"The partnership of two big financial groups operating on insurance markets provides our companies with incentives for further development. It is a positive message for our clients, business partners and employees”, stated the Managing Director of Česká poisťovňa – Slovensko, Antonín Nekvinda. “Česká poisťovňa – Slovensko will be able to make the most of being part of a big international group. We will be able to use the best experience endorsed in practice from other insurance markets. The holding structure covering the activities in several prospective countries will offer our employees interesting possibilities for new career developments,” added Nekvinda.
“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to merge and share our international experience with our new strategic partner. Generali is a very successful and growing company in Slovakia and a leading company in the area of innovation of life insurance and pension security products. This merger will take us to third place on the Slovak insurance market," said Peter Thirring, the Managing Director and President of the Board of Generali Poisťovňa, a.s.
Even though the decision on the form of the future operation will not be taken until the final settlement of the transaction, it is certain that, by combining the activities of both companies, the third biggest insurer on the Slovak market will be created, with a common market share in excess of 11%, and written premiums will reach 5.7 billion SKK (based on the economic results of 2006).
Česká poisťovňa – Slovensko is the third strongest universal insurance company on the Slovak market with written premiums of 3,601 million SKK and manages almost 500 thousand insurance contracts. Česká poisťovňa – Slovensko is a member of the international financial group PPF.
According to the volume of written premiums (IFRS,) Generali Poisťovňa, a.s. occupies the sixth place with a market share of 4% and is consistently growing faster than the market. In Slovakia, Generali is the leader in banking-insurance thanks to its cooperation with VÚB Banka. The company also offers other financial products through other companies of the group, for example, it offers its services to 200,000 clients in the field of pensions saving, and it also offers the investment funds Generali Investments to retail clients in Slovakia. Generali Poisťovňa, a.s. is a member of the Generali Group and a 100 % subsidiary of Generali Holding Vienna AG.
