Eurohold Bulgaria AD

M&A Activity • Nov 17, 2017

November 17, 2017

NEWS RELEASE

Euroins Insurance Group to buy a Russian insurer

Euroins Insurance Group (EIG), a leading independent insurance group in Southeast Europe owned by Eurohold Bulgaria, will acquire a significant stake in the Russian insurer ООО RSO Euroins (https://www.euro-ins.ru/). The deal has been signed on November 16, 2017 and is expected to be finalised after obtaining regulatory approvals.

ООО RSO Euroins is specialized in the general insurance segment in Russia and has been operating in the country since 2003 offering more than 50 insurance products. The company recorded Gross written premiums (GWP) of EUR 21 million (40% growth y-on-y) for 2016. EIG will acquire a 49% stake in the company for EUR 3.6 million via a capital increase. This will allow the Bulgaria-based company to settle its business in Russia.

The acquisition of the Russian insurer is in line with the strategy of EIG to expand the scope of its portfolio in Eastern Europe and strengthen its position as a leading insurance group in the region. The purchase of ООО RSO Euroins is also in line with EIG's strategy to expand in the CIS region where the markets have an enormous potential for growth taking into account the low penetration of insurance products as well as the consolidation opportunities going forward.

EIG operates in 8 countries providing services for 2 million customers. The group is active in Bulgaria, Romania, FYROM, Ukraine and Greece. It also has niche operations in Italy, Spain and Poland. EIG has its own subsidiaries in the first four of the countries where it is present. Euroins Romania is among the top 3 largest players in the segment of general insurance. With the purchase of the Russian insurer the annual GWP of the Bulgaria-based group will surpass EUR 400 million and the company will be present in markets populated with over 200 million people.

In the last couple of years EIG has acquired Germany's Talanx Group's subsidiaries in Bulgaria and Ukraine, operating under HDI brand, Dutch insurer Achmea's insurance business in Bulgaria, known under Interamerican brand, as well as Australian group QBE's operations in Romania and Bulgaria. It also bought the non-life insurance portfolio of ATE Insurance Romania, a subsidiary of Greece's Piraeus Bank.

Asen Christov, Supervisory Board Chairman of Eurohold Bulgaria, commented: "With the acquisition of ООО RSO Euroins, our insurance group is expanding its presence in Southeast Europe and strengthens its leading position in the region. We are purchasing a company with a growing business that is operating in a huge market. The macroeconomic outlook for the Russian economy is positive and the country's

GDP growth is expected to turn into positive one in 2018 thus emerging from the recession in the last two years"

Euroins Insurance Group

Euroins Insurance Group (EIG) is one of the largest independent insurance groups operating in the CEE and SEE insurance markets. The company is focused in providing a full range of insurance products in the areas of general, health and life insurance. Sofia-based group operates in 8 European countries and owns insurance subsidiaries in four of them – Bulgaria, Romania, FYROM and Ukraine. The insurance group has been operating in Greece since 2014. It has over 2 million clients and 1600 employees. In 2017, the international credit rating agency Fitch assigned Euroins Romania, the largest company within EIG, an insurer financial strength (IFS) rating of 'BB-' with stable outlook. EIG is a subsidiary of Eurohold Bulgaria – a leading Bulgarian company, listed on BSE-Sofia and WSE. Eurohold Bulgaria operates across the CEE and SEE, focused on non-banking financial services and asset management. www.eig.bg www.eurohold.bg