We have enough capital to raise money for CO in a few days

The success of the business strategy of the Polish insurance giant PZU depends on the successful acquisition of Croatia osiguranje.

The only alternative could be the acquisition of the Slovenian Triglav; however, the Poles do not hide their enthusiasm for Croatia. This was stated in Warsaw by PZU’s CEO Andrzej Klesyk, who explained to Croatian journalists how his company’s strategy is to break into southern Europe, which could start right from Zagreb. In the event of an unsuccessful acquisition of CO or Triglav, PZU has the Serbian market left, but in their opinion, it is not nearly as attractive as the Croatian market, on which they have fully concentrated.

Klesyk, however, does not know at what stage the privatization of CO is; he only unofficially learns that the Croatian government has selected a consultant for privatization and will soon announce a tender.

– In the event that we successfully enter the ownership structure of Croatia osiguranje, it would not occur to us to change its name, which is a brand recognized by 75 percent of Croats. Likewise, we would like to invest in a smaller ownership stake in the medium term, while in the long term, we are interested in corporate control over the largest domestic insurance company. Of course, we would like the state to remain one of the significant partners in CO, as that would guarantee that CO will contribute to both us and your state – said Klesyk.

What might interest the government and other shareholders the most is the fact that PZU has enough capital to secure money for CO shares in a few days. This is a company with a market capitalization of nearly nine billion euros and a capital adequacy ratio 400 percent higher.

Although they would be willing to buy a smaller stake in the initial privatization, in the long term, they are still interested in majority ownership, and money is clearly not a problem for them.

– We have enough capital to secure money within a few days – says Klesyk, adding that they have 400 percent more capital than the regulator requires. PZU’s position in Poland is similar to CO’s position in Croatia. They hold 32 percent of the premium in the non-life insurance segment and 40 percent in life insurance, with their annual premium reaching as much as 3.8 billion euros. Last year alone, they achieved a net profit of 769 million euros, while their market capitalization rose to nine billion euros.

So far, PZU is present outside Poland only in Ukraine and Latvia, as well as in Estonia and Lithuania, which they are entering this year. We want to expand east of Berlin and west of Moscow, excluding those cities. This is our well-known strategy, and we want to convey that we approach CO transparently and without hidden motives. We have had enormous privatization mistakes that have led to long-standing conflicts between shareholders and the state. Despite this, we have managed to regain the lost market share from years of stagnation and have grown into a company that wants to conquer Eastern and Southern Europe, and we have valuable experiences from which CO could benefit – concluded Klesyk.