EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Insurance, Latvia, Legislation

The deal will be finalized after it is approved by all insurance sector watchdogs, the company said in a statement to the media.

VIG will acquire a majority stake in BTA Baltic, but the exact amount of the shares bought by the Austrian company will be disclosed after the deal is approved by supervisory authorities, the insurer's spokeswoman Agnese Grinberga told LETA.

At the moment, BTA Baltic has just one shareholder, BTA Insurance Company SE. Key shareholders in BTA Insurance Company SE include Gints Dandzbergs and Pauls Dandzbergs who hold 20-33% each in the company.

The change of the BTA Baltic shareholder structure envisages the company's autonomous development in the Baltic market, maintaining fast decision-making and high-quality customer service. The company will retain its existing brand and values, according to the statement.

BTA Baltic CEO Janis Lucaus said that the investments provided by VIG will open up new growth opportunities for BTA Baltic and enable the company to use international experience in providing insurance services in the Baltic states.

The new shareholder has been attracted with the aim to reinforce BTA Baltic's leading position in the Baltic insurance market.

VIG already bought Latvia's Baltikums insurance company earlier this year.

By acquiring the stake in BTA Baltic, VIG becomes one of the three largest non-life insurers in the Baltics, according to the statement to the media.

Vienna Insurance Group is one of the largest insurance groups in Central and Eastern Europe. VIG already has a branch of Compensa Life Vienna Insurance Group SE (life insurance) and a branch of Compensa TU S.A. Vienna Insurance Group (non-life insurance) operating in the Latvian market.

BTA Baltic is a subsidiary of BTA Insurance Company SE which started operations in the Baltic states on July 1, 2015, following the successful completion of the reorganization process by separating business activities in the Baltic states and the rest of Europe. BTA Baltic has received a license for all types of insurance services, which allows the company to offer customers all kinds of insurance services in the Baltic countries – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.