Germany’s third-largest insurance group Talanx has agreed to acquire 99.4% of the shares in Liberty Sigorta, the Turkish non-life subsidiary of US-based Liberty Mutual Group.
The acquisition enables Talanx to strengthen its presence in Turkey, which is one of the group’s core markets. Closing the transaction is subject to regulatory approval, and this is expected to occur in the first half of 2018, Talanx said in a statement.
“Liberty Sigorta has a balanced portfolio mix and a distribution network of 760 intermediaries making it a good fit with our strategy in Turkey,” said Mr Torsten Leue, Chairman of the Management Board of Talanx International and Member of the Board of Management of Talanx.
In 2016, Liberty Sigorta generated GWP of EUR56 million (US$69.3 million) and had a portfolio of more than 700,000 policyholders.
Mr Leue said through this acquisition, the company is poised to be one of the top-five players in Turkey, which is one of their target markets.
Talanx, under the HDI brand, which has an insurance tradition of more than 100 years, has operated in the fields of both industrial and retail insurance both in Germany and abroad.
HDI Sigorta has been operating in Turkey’s non-life market since 2006. In 2016, HDI Sigorta achieved a premium volume of EUR261 million with a market share of 2.5%.
Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance, which operates in 30 countries around the world, entered the Turkish market by acquiring the local insurance company Seker Sigorta in 2006 and changed its name to Liberty Sigorta in 2007. After operating in Turkey for 10 years, Liberty announced a loss of TRY10.5 million (US$2.8 million) in 2016, while its accumulated losses amounted to TRY50.7 million. M
EUR1 = US$1.24; TRY1 = US$0.27