Groupama closes deal to acquire 100% of Asiban

As a result of the transaction, Groupama ranks third on the Romanian insurance market based on the 2007 results

Following the finalization of the necessary regulatory approvals, Groupama announces today the official signing of the acquisition of the entire share capital of Asiban S.A (Asiban) from Banca Comercială Română S.A (BCR), BRD-Groupe Société Générale S.A.(BRD), Banca Transilvania S.A. (BT), Casa de Economii şi Consemnaţiuni CEC S.A (CEC Bank), on the sell side. The total value of the transaction amounts to 350 million EUR.

For Groupama, this acquisition reflects its strategic commitment to expand its international operations becoming a benchmark international player, especially in the markets of Central and Eastern Europe. Romania is one of the major axes of this strategy, implemented through the acquisitions of BT Asigurari and OTP Garancia Asigurari.

“This transaction is in line with our development strategy in the CEE strategy and Romania will play an important role, given the size of the population, the country’s rapid economic growth and the very low penetration level of the insurance market”, said Jean-François Lemoux, CEO of Groupama International.

Set-up in 1996 by 4 leading Romanian banks, Asiban is one of the top Romanian life and non-life insurance companies (the third largest composite insurer in 2007 with an 8% market share). In addition to its in-house selling capabilities, Asiban has a diversified nationwide distribution platform consisting mainly of brokerage networks and agents working on a selfemployed basis. In 2007, Asiban’s premium amounted to 185.8 million EUR, 39% up from previous year and almost 7 points percentage higher than the Romanian insurance market growth.

“In the next period, we will concentrate on investing furthermore in the consolidation of our companies, through a communication campaign of the new brand that will start this fall, followed by the launch of new innovative products, a full upgrade of the IT system and a long term investment in the human capital. Joining the forces of BT Asigurari and Asiban, along with the distribution agreements we already have with OTP Garancia Asigurari and Banca Transilvania, will enable us to realize an ambitious development on this market”, added Jean-François Lemoux.