VIG overbids for Asirom takeover

The mandatory takeover bid for Asirom began on 27 November and will end on 17 December. During the bidding period, VIG intends to take over a cumulated package of 49.82 percent of the insurance company’s share capital, owned by minor shareholders.

Austrian’s VIG became shareholder of Asirom following its acquisition of 50.18 percent of the insurer’s capital from InterAgro, for a price of RON 0.75/per share. The two-stage transaction amounted to over €76 million. The stock market capitalization of Asirom, listed on Bucharest’s electronic stock exchange, Rasdaq, coded ASRA, was worth some €133 mln, €12 mln more than the total price which the Austrian Group is willing to pay. AVAS owns 7.97 percent and other shareholders 41.85 percent of Asirom.

VIG presently controls Omniasig, Omniasig Asigurari de Viata, Unita, Agras, Asirom, and Asirom Concordia. The group’s main company on the Romanian market is Omniasig, in second place, which closed the year 2006 with a volume of over €152 million in premiums.

The local insurance market was worth over €1.6 billion by the end of the first nine months in 2007, with three VIG-owned companies Omniasig, Asirom and Unita among top 10 players.