Austria-based insurance firm Uniqa Insurance Group would be buying the Croatian and Serbian units of Baloise Holding. The deal would be worth EUR 75 million or USD 103 million. In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, Switzerland-based Baloise said it was expecting a one-time loss amounting to CHF 30 million or USD 33 million as a result of the deal.
Baloise bought Croatia-based Basler osiguranje Zagreb in 2007. After a review of the growth prospects of the unit, Baloise reduced the unit's valuation in 2011. Baloise expected its Serbian unit, Basler osiguranja, to break even next year. Last year, the business volume from both firms was pegged at CHF 68.4 million.
According to Vontobel Analyst Stefan Schuermann, the sale of both units made sense since these never reached its target returns. He added that disposing the assets would enable Baloise to concentrate on its plan to restructure its German operations. The Swiss insurer was planning to downsize its workforce in the country by 20%.
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