STATE SEES TWO BIDS FOR CROATIA OSIGURANJE STAKE

The Croatian government has confirmed that it received two binding bids for its offered 51% stake in state-owned insurer Croatia Osiguranje. The state, which set a July 4 deadline for the receipt of bids, was offered 56.1m euro for the stake by Germany’s Allianz, alongside a promised capital injection of 30m euro, and 105m euro by Slovenian insurer Triglav, which has pledged by boost capital by 15.6m euro. The offers follow the completion of due diligence by the remaining five shortlisted bidders for the stake. Economy minister Hrvoje Vojkovic said that the state’s sale advisers CAIB Zagreb, a local unit of Austria’s CAIB Investment Bank, would now “review the financial and technical aspects of both offers and make a recommendation to the government within two weeks”. Croatia Osiguranje is the country’s largest insurance firm, with 2001 gross premium income of 2.53bn kuna and a local market share of more than 50%.