Chinese firm bids for Greece’s Ethniki Hellenic General Insurance

Rongfeng Holding Group and a related party plan to acquire a majority stake in National Bank Of Greece's insurance unit Ethniki Hellenic General Insurance, according to a Reuters Feb. 12 report.

In a press release, Rongfeng declared that, together with a related party it plans to acquire at least 75 percent in National Bank of Greece’s Ethniki Hellenic General Insurance.

Rongfeng Holding Group is a China-based company principally engaged in the development and sales of real estate.

The move comes shortly after news reports suggested that the acquisition of Ethniki Hellenic General Insurance by Dutch EXIN Financial Services Holdings was falling apart.

In June 2017 Dutch firm EXIN Financial Services Holding said that it was acquiring a 75 percent stake in insurer Ethniki Hellenic General Insurance from the National Bank of Greece (NBG) for €718 million.

The transaction implied an enterprise value of €958 million.

But in a recent move, US investor Calamos Family Partners (CFP) filed a lawsuit in the US against Dutch EXIN Financial Services Holdings for defaulting on loans, according to an emailed statement, putting in doubt the planned acquisition of National Bank of Greece’s insurance unit, according to a Feb. 7 Reuters report.

National Bank of Greece had put its insurance subsidiary up for sale as part of a restructuring plan approved by the European Union to exit non-banking operations and focus on core banking.

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