SOFIA (Bulgaria), July 10 (SeeNews) – United Capital PLC is in talks to buy a majority stake in Bulgarian pension insurer Doverie from the Vienna Insurance Group (VIG) for over 150 million euro ($192 million), a source close to the deal said.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said United Capital PLC has been given a preferred buyer status.
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VIG holds a stake of 92.48% in Doverie, according to its 2012 annual report.
In late May news agency APA quoted VIG’s CEO Peter Hagen as saying the group is ready to immediately dispose of its stake in the Bulgarian pension insurance fund if a buyer is found.
Doverie is performing well but is not part of VIG's core business, Hagen said then, as quoted by APA.
A deal would have to be cleared by Bulgaria’s financial and competition regulators and the buyer would have to prove it could fund the purchase from own, not borrowed, capital.
Little is known about United Capital PLC. Records of Companies House, the UK’s registrar of companies, show an entity incorporated in England and Wales with a registered office in Grays, Essex.
According to an annual return form submitted to Companies House on May 21, 2013, the firm has two major shareholders - Regent Capital JSC and Asia Trade Management Ltd. The document also lists a number of small shareholders, including Claton Group SA, Nord Investment Inc, Regent Pacific Foundation and Guenter Rohr.
Earlier today, a leading confederation of Bulgarian labour unions – without naming United Capital PLC – voiced concerns about the lack of transparency regarding who is going to buy Doverie and insisted on meeting the prime minister, regulators and the National Security Agency (DANS) to discuss the matter. The unions also called for an extraordinary shareholder meeting to be scheduled.
($1 = 0.7803 euro)