Compensa Zycie and Vienna Life merger awaits final court approval

Austrian insurance giant, Wiener Städtische is about to complete the merger of two life insurance companies belonging to the group, Compensa Zycie and Vienna Life. "We are hoping to have the joint life insurer, Compensa Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen na Zycie (Compensa TuNZ) running by December, however, it all depends on the courts," said Ireneusz Arczewski, the head of Compensa Zycie. According to statements made by the two companies' representatives, the operational merger has already been completed. Formally it was Compensa Zycie which took over a much smaller Vienna Life, and increased the share capital by zl. 56 million, to zl. 112 million. Some changes have also been made to the ownership structure of the company. Previously Vienna Life fully belonged to Wiener Städtische, and Compensa was 50% owned by the Austrians, while the other half belonged to German concern, HUK-Coburg. After the operation, 75% of Compensa TuNZ will be owned by Wiener Städtische and the remaining shares will be controlled by HUK-Coburg. According to estimates the new joint company is to bring zl. 80 million worth of contributions by next year, and hopes to see first profits in 2005. (Puls Biznesu, p. 9) A.K.