The Austrian group Wiener Staedtische that controls Omniasig, will buy the about 21% stake owned by BCR in the insurance company. As a result, the Austrians will control 93.61% in the third largest player on the insurance market. The two parties did not reveal the value of the transaction. If the Austrians were to pay the same price they offered last year to the Israelis at TBI Holding, when they took over 68% of Omniasig, the value of the transaction would stand at almost 20 million euros. Wiener Staedtische currently owns over 72% of Omniasig shares, after taking over the stakes of several minority shareholders for 4 million euros. "The strengthening of our position on the Romanian market is justified from an economic point of view. The increase in gross underwritten premiums is significant one, the market share is rising, and Omniasig is one of the most important companies in the country," stated Gunther Geyer, CEO of Wiener Staedtische. "We have made the decision to sell our stake in Omniasig as part of our strategy to organise and consolidate the group. In this light, it is yet another step we are taking after the sale of the shares we owned in Omniasig Asigurari de Viata (Omniasig Life Insurance) for example," say BCR officials. Omniasig closed 2005 with business worth 116 million euros, about 57% more than in 2004, according to company estimates. ZF
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