VTB Group, whose Andrey Kostin apologised to Boris Johnson barely two months ago for publicly referring to the former UK foreign affairs minister as a ‘jerk’, has completed the sale of its unit VTB Insurance.
Without disclosing the financial terms of the transaction, VTB Group said all necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained to integrate its insurance assets into SOGAZ Insurance Group. As part of the deal, the Russian financial services group will receive a 10% stake in the merged entity.
According to VTB Group, which has subsidiary and affiliated banks in the UK, selling its insurance assets will help it focus on its banking business while retaining shareholding in a major insurance company “set to become a market leader following the merger.”
In the meantime VTB Insurance will continue to operate under its brand, switching to the SOGAZ identity upon full integration. The latter is one of the largest federal insurers in Russia.
“Based on the forecast IFRS financial results for 2018, the aggregate premiums paid to SOGAZ and VTB Insurance groups could reach over RUB330 billion, while their cumulative assets could exceed RUB670 billion,” said the seller.
