Austrian insurer Uniqa to sell Italian businesses: Reuters

Austrian insurer Uniqa plans to sell its Italian businesses, news agency Apa said on Monday, citing Italian union representatives.

The group is focusing on central and eastern European countries in a revamping and streamlining of its business after warning in March profits could fall by as much as half this year due to a difficult trading environment.

Uniqa wants to sell its three Italian units, Uniqa Assicurazioni, Uniqa Previdenza and Uniqa Life, and has mandated consultancy KPMG to find buyers, Apa said.

Uniqa declined to comment.

The process is underway and among the bidders are Italian insurers Cattolica and Reale Mutua, as well as private equity firms, a source close to the matter told Reuters.

Private equity firms Apollo and Cinven are also among the bidders, said Apa.

The Italian businesses contributed 24.7 million euros ($27.8 million) to Uniqa’s 2015 earnings before taxes of 423 million euros. Customers in Italy paid 1.1 billion euros of the group’s 6.3 billion euros in gross written premiums.