Norwegian insurer Gjensidige Forsikring will sell its Baltic subsidiary ADB Gjensidige (Gjensidige Baltics) to German-based international insurance group Ergo International for €80 million. The agreement is still subject to approval by competition watchdogs. Gjensidige CEO Geir Holmgren, commenting on the sale of the business in the Baltics, noted that the company will continue to concentrate on the Scandinavian market. The transaction will not have a material impact on the financial performance of the Gjensidige group and the group's financial forecasts will not change, but the transaction is expected to result in an accounting loss of approximately NOK 120 million (EUR 10 million) in the third quarter of 2024. Ergo noted that the deal still needs to be approved by competition authorities in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Only after the successful completion of the transaction will ADB Gjensidige legally become the property of Ergo, and until then the companies will continue to operate separately. After completion of the transaction, ADB Gjensidige will be integrated into Ergo and the activities of both insurers will be combined, but this will not affect clients, partners and brokers – all contracts will remain in force. Chairman of the Board of Ergo in the Baltics Ursula Klara Deshka noted that the Baltic insurance market has good business potential, which is in line with Ergo's international business strategy. Combining the strengths of Ergo and Gjensidige in service and sales will create a platform for further innovation and development of insurance services in the Baltics. Gjensidige Baltics employs 659 employees. The company offers general insurance products to private and commercial clients in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In total, the group's companies in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Baltic countries employ almost 4,500 people. The group's operating profit in 2023 was NOK 36 billion, with total assets of NOK 148 billion. Ergo International is based in Düsseldorf (Germany), and its largest shareholder is the international reinsurance company Munich Re. In the Baltic countries the company is represented by the Ergo group of insurance companies. There are branches of Ergo Insurance and Ergo Life Insurance operating in Latvia, which in 2023 wrote gross premiums totaling EUR 89.908 million, which is 6.4% more than in 2022.
