FAIRFAX TO ACQUIRE AN 80% STAKE IN EUROBANK’S INSURANCE UNIT

Canadian insurance and investment group Fairfax Financial Holdings has agreed to acquire an 80% stake in Eurolife, the non-life and life insurance operation of Greece’s Eurobank, for €316m ($482m), just weeks after acquiring 17% of the bank by participating in its latest recapitalisation round. Eurolife is Greece’s third-largest insurer, offering non-life and life products through the bank’s branch network in Greece and Romania. Eurobank will keep a 20% stake in the operation, and Eurolife will continue to be led by chief executive Alexander Sarrigeorgiou and his team. RBC analyst Mark Dwelle said in a note to clients that Eurolife will continue to be profitable without any capital infusion or management changes, noting that “this is the type of opportunistic acquisition Fairfax has done repeatedly over the years - acquiring a good franchise that wouldn’t normally even come to market, at a fair price by being able to be a fast, fair and friendly acquiring partner.” For Eurobank, the deal complies with a restructuring programme mandated by the European Commission.