Insurers line up for control of Zurich's Polish operations

Royal & SunAlliance (RSA) is rumored to have joined the list of companies lining up to purchase the Polish operations of the Zurich insurance group. According to Puls Biznesu, the British insurer is very keen on a takeover of the Zurich group in Poland, although it faces strong competition from Winterthur of Switzerland and Generali of Italy, which have already completed due diligence proceedings. Zurich Financial Services is said to be seeking between zl.600 million and zl.800 million for its three branches in Poland. However, it remains unclear whether the group's operations will be sold as a whole, since some potential investors have expressed an interest in buying only its pension fund. RSA, which is Britain's second largest insurer, manages $95 billion in 55 countries and has adopted a policy of taking over established insurance companies. In Poland RSA owns a 69% stake in life insurance group Royal PBK. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6) M.T.K.