KBC sells Warta to Germany’s Talanx for 770 million

German insurer Talanx has agreed to acquire Belgian KBC Group’s Polish insurance unit TUiR Warta for €770 million, subject to closing adjustments.  The transaction is expected to be finalized in the second half of 2012, following regulatory approval.
 
Once the transaction is completed Talanx will control the second-largest insurance group in Poland, according to Financial Supervision Authority data.Aon Benfield Securities Limited was the sole financial adviser to Talanx International AG and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company.  After closing of the transaction Meiji Yasuda, Talanx’s Japanese joint venture partner, will acquire 30 per cent of the Warta shares from Talanx International.
The ABS team was led by Ross Milburn (Managing Director) together with Paul Rayner and John Rowlands.  The ABS team worked closely with Marc Beckers of Aon Benfield (Head of Analytics, EMEA) throughout the transaction.
 
Ross commented: “The sale of Warta by KBC was a relatively high profile and public process.  The target represented an attractive strategic opportunity with a strong market position (being the second largest Polish insurance company) in a growing market.  ABS drew on local Polish market expertise within the Aon Group together with specialist skills of the ABS team itself to provide timely advice to its clients.”