Eastern European group "Alpha"

By the end of this year, another banking-insurance alliance may be formed in the domestic insurance market. As Alexander Karpov, General Director of the Eastern European Insurance Agency (WESTA), said at a press conference yesterday, “in the coming days an agreement may be signed on the acquisition by the Alfa Group of a stake in the insurance company.” According to him, “agreements have already been reached on a number of key aspects of future cooperation,” but the details of the deal are not disclosed until the agreement is signed. Karpov did not name the size of the group's future participation in the capital of the insurer, stipulating that the controlling stake in the company would not be sold. Based on the experience of similar transactions, it can be assumed that the investor is not interested in a stake less than the controlling one (25% + 1 share).

The technology for Alpha’s entry into the insurer’s capital is also unknown: according to Karpov, a new issue of shares of the company (for 270 million rubles) is already being placed among the current shareholders of VESTA. They are Wimm-Bill-Dann JSC and three company managers (including Karpov himself, as well as his deputy Alexander Bashmachnikov). Thus, Alfa will apparently be offered to either buy out the shares from these shareholders, or wait for a new issue, which is planned for next year. Speaking about the form of Alpha's entry into the number of VESTA shareholders, Karpov emphasized: “Financial resources are not the main thing.” Obviously, the terms of the agreement imply either an exchange of shares (this is how MDM Bank acquired a stake in RESO-Garantiya), or a combined form, implying certain financial investments on the part of Alpha.

However, the main bonus for VESTA in this transaction is not the “real” money that the company can earn from the sale of its shares, but large corporate clients - members of the group and the branch network of Alfa Bank. Karpov himself yesterday announced a possible merger of the sales networks of future partners, saying that in bank branches insurers can offer inexpensive standardized policies (liability insurance for car owners, accidents, property, etc.) and conduct initial negotiations on the sale of more “complex” policies.

It is interesting that in parallel with the negotiations on Alfa’s entry into the capital of the insurance company, the preparation of insurance protection programs for Alfa Bank itself is underway (the so-called Bankers Blanket Bond - a comprehensive insurance protection policy for banks). According to Mr. Karpov, a large Western insurance broker is involved in selecting the insurer.

However, the most piquant topic in the negotiations between the bank and VESTA is the fate of the Alfa-Garantia insurance company created by Alfa this summer (it is headed by the former deputy chairman of the Central Bank Denis Kiselev). It is obvious that Alfa-Garantiya will not be able to compete on equal terms with VESTA. However, according to available information, none of the insurance companies wants to settle for second place. So the future configuration of Alfa Bank's insurance business remains unclear.

Artem LEBEDEV