Russian Funds to buy Soglasie Insurance Co from Prokhorov - source
MOSCOW. Nov 17 (Interfax) - LLC Ladya River, which is controlled by the Russian Funds (Russkye Fondy) investment group, has asked the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) for clearance to buy a 100% stake in LLC Interkonsento, and expects a decision in the near future, an insurance market source told Interfax.
Interkonsento owns 58.3% of the Soglasie Insurance Company, a part of Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim Group. Sergei Vasilyev, chairman of the Russian Funds board of directors, could become the beneficiary of Soglasie if the deal goes through.
"A deal is being discussed. A deal really is possible. A plan is being worked out to get the company into the black," Vasilyev told Interfax. He declined to say how much the deal might cost, saying only that it might take place on market terms.
Onexim Group is not commenting on the talks with Russian Funds.
"After several year of trying, Prokhorov might manage to sell his insurance asset. True, he won't get a normal price for it, but he won't have to carry on investing in it," the source said.
The Rosgosstrakh group received an offer to buy Soglasie in the past, but it was not interested, the source said. "They might have got something for transferring it, if not a sale. There's no obvious point in such an acquisition while the insurance market is still in crisis, when there are no areas of growth in any segment," the source said.
Talks on buying Soglasie were also held with Georgy Boos, the former governor of the Kaliningrad region, and with other potential buyers, but they came to nothing.