Investment group Inweasta expects to close acquisition of PPF Life Insurance by year's end - media
MOSCOW. Nov 5 (Interfax) - Investment group Inweasta is acquiring 100% of shares in the Russian business of the Czech Republic's PPF Group, PPF Life Insurance, the journal Kompaniya reported, citing Inweasta founder Andrey Elinson.
The deal has already been approved by the Russian government commission for control of foreign investment and the Central Bank of Russia (CBR).
"We plan to complete its legal formalization before the end of November. We defended the development strategy for the company worked out with management to the Central Bank. It calls for preserving the number of employees, increasing profitability and developing the product line. Yes, and overall no serious changes are planned," Elinson said in an interview with the magazine.
PPF Group was careful in its selection of a buyer for the insurer and looked for one for over 18 months, he said, adding that the "insurance company is in excellent financial health, the group expects to strengthen its position in the sector."
"We, like any investor, want to earn a steady cash flow in the form of dividends, but only to the degree that this does not hinder the company and the fulfilment of its obligations to the clients who trust it," Elinson said.
"We don't plan to sell PPF Life Insurance or create a joint venture with other market players, partly because PPF Life Insurance has a unique business model that is basically impossible or very difficult to combine with any insurance company on the Russian market," Elinson said.
In the 15 years that it is has been in operation, the company has formed a professional team and built excellent business and management models, he said. The insurer's management, including board chairman Vit Sedlacek, will continue to work at the company.
Inweasta, which is headquartered in Dubai and has offices in Hong Kong, Istanbul and Vienna, does not plan to interfere in PPF Life Insurance's operations, which is it general approach to managing acquired assets. However, the group intends to strengthen the strategic level of management by inviting life insurance experts to join the board of directors.
The "life insurance market is growing steadily - growth amounted to 50% in 2023, this is the main driver of growth for the whole insurance market, and in the first half of 2024 growth of collected premiums in the life segment amounted to an impressive 43% year-on-year, whereas other insurance segments showed only 11%," Elinson said.
"When assessing the prospects of buying an insurance company, we looked at, among other things, the current condition of the sector, and the significant potential for its further development and at margin figures, which exceed 25% across the market on average," Elinson said.