Schoenherr has advised the UNIQA Insurance Group AG ("UNIQA") on the EUR 295 million sale of its Italian insurance company UNIQA Assicurazioni SpA ("UNIQA Assicurazioni") to the Italian mutual insurance company Societa Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni.
The sale includes Uniqa Assicurazioni and its subsidiaries operating in Italy – UNIQA Previdenza SpA and UNIQA Life SpA. The closing of the transaction is expected to take place in the first half of 2017 following the receipt of regulatory approvals.
"We are happy that we could assist UNIQA on this strategic divestment by contributing our experience in M&A sale processes and our industry know-how in the insurance sector," said Alexander Popp, Schoenherr Corporate/M&A Partner.
Schoenherr worked jointly with the Italian law firm Legance in the sale process, preparing and negotiating the transaction documents and providing regulatory advice to UNIQA, which has approximately 40 companies in 19 countries and serves more than 10 million customers. In October 2016 UNIQA completed a merger of three primary insurers with UNIQA Oesterreich Versicherungen AG as the acquiring company. Schoenherr advised on that merger (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 20, 2016), which resulted, Schoenherr reports, "in UNIQA and Raiffeisen Versicherung becoming two of the strongest insurance brands in Austria."
UNIQA's Italian enterprise was founded in 1965 and the three companies currently employ a total of 321 people and contributed around EUR 25 million to the group’s earnings.
According to Schoenherr, "with a history spanning nearly two centuries, Societa Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni is the largest mutual insurance company in Italy. Headquartered in Torino, the company offers a broad range of both life and non-life insurance services to individuals, families and businesses."
The Schoenherr team advising UNIQA consisted of Partners Alexander Popp, Peter Feyl, and Robert Bachner, Attorney Manuel Ritt-Huemer, and Associates Alfred Amann and Marco Thorbauer.
UNIQA was supported on Italian legal matters by Legance, with KPMG Corporate Finance Italy and Unicredit providing financial advice to the company.
Societa Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni was assisted by Tosetto, Weigmann e Associati as legal counsel and BNP Paribas as financial adviser.
Image Source: uniqagroup.com
