Hestia to pay PBK euro 110 mn for insurer and pension fund

Sopot-based insurance company Hestia will acquire from Powszechny Bank Kredytowy (PBK) the insurer TU PBK and pension fund company PTE PBK for a total of euro 110 million. The takeover of TU PBK is to be completed by the end of the year. The acquisition of PTE PBK, which operates the OFE Orzel pension fund, would be finalized next year. Hestia and PBK also decided to form an alliance and jointly offer banking-insurance products, but they said that a merger would be out of the question. Hestia is owned by German insurer Alte Leipziger Europa (ALE), part of the Ergo group. Hans Dieter Knuettel, head of ALE's supervisory board, said that Hestia would not merge with another insurer from the Ergo group, Compensa. Instead, he hinted that Ergo might choose to sell off Compensa. (Puls Biznesu, P.3)