German insurance company Talanx and Japanese Meiji Yasuda partnered on Monday to buy Polish company Europa for 912 million Polish zloyts (GBP169 million pounds), the Financial Times reported.
Europa, previously owned by local billionaire Leszek Czarnecki, saw share prices jump 20.8 per cent on the Warsaw stock exchange in response to the announcement.
The final breakdown of ownership after the deal, which is expected to take four months to close, will see Talanx holding 50 per cent, Meiji with 34 per cent and Mr Czarnecki’s Getin Holding financial group keeping the remaining 16 per cent, the Times said.
“The redistribution of wealth happens in times of crisis,” says Torsten Leue, Talanx’s chief executive, speaking in the offices of Getin Holding. “It is very unpredictable over the next six months… but over the longer term Poland is on a growth trend which cannot be stopped.”
“This is the best time for investing, not consuming,” he says.
