Baloise on Friday said that Patria Genossenschaft had acquired a 9.35% stake in the Swiss insurer, which this week announced plans to merge with competitor Helvetia.
Patria is Helvetia’s main shareholder.
The shares were acquired from Cevian Capital, Baloise said, an activist investor which up until now had not commented on the planned merger.
The acquisition was unconditional and the parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price, Baloise added.
Patria will be able to vote with the newly acquired shares at the extraordinary general meeting of Baloise to be held on May 23 regarding the merger with Helvetia, Baloise said, adding it would not nominate a seventh board member in connection with the merger with Helvetia.
As a result, the board of the combined company Helvetia Baloise Holding Ltd. will have a total of 13 instead of 14 members after the merger, Baloise said.
(Reporting by Ariane Luthi; editing by Ludwig Burger)The board of directors in 2023 decided the new name fit the ethos of board members, and all agreed on it.
Rollins declined to say where the startup capital is coming from, except that the majority is from a handful of recognizable insurance services firms, including brokerages, claims firms and managing general agents. And a large minority of the funding has come from Florida-based individuals, family owned insurance offices, and smaller investors.
“They know that this is the time to invest because the Legislature has been very successful and the reforms of 2022 and 2023 are working very well,” he said.
Statewide, average homeowners’ insurance rates are starting to drop, if only slightly, and litigation levels have fallen sharply since the 2022 statutory changes were enacted, he noted. That has produced a healthier climate that fosters competition among market-based insurers, which can now offer reasonable premiums and “still make money,” he added.
