FINLAND’S SAMPO TO ACQUIRE LARGEST LATVIAN INSURER BALTA

Finnish insurer Sampo has unveiled plans to take control of Latvia’s largest insurance company Balta. A binding deal is expected to be signed by next month that will allow Sampo, which is Finland’s largest insurer, to increase an existing 14.8% stake in Balta to at least 72.4%. The agreement will be secured by Sampo’s Yritys-Sampo subsidiary. Balta, which had 1999 premiums of about FMk200m, employs 450 staff. The company operates through 30 regional offices and a network of 1,500 agents. Sampo noted that Balta enjoyed a particularly strong position in Latvia’s third-party auto liability and property insurance sectors, while Sampo’s existing Latvian subsidiaries, non-life player Sampo Latvija and life assurer Sampo Latvija Dziviba, focused almost exclusively on corporate insurance.