Swedish insurance group on the way to record private equity portfolio sale

Monday, 20 August 2012
Swedish insurance group, Länsförsäkringar is in the process of selling a €1.5bn portfolio of private equity interests, which would be one of the largest divestments by a European institution.

According to the Swedish business daily, Dagens Industri, quoting Financial News Länsförsäkringar is about to sell unlisted shares worth Skr12 billion. The buyer is reported to be the Abu Dhabi's giant oil fund.
The paper says that according to three people familiar with the process, the state investor, Abu Dhabi Investment Council is close to buying 90 percent of the portfolio.
The remaining 10 percent will be purchased by the Australian Foundation, Queensland Investment Corporation.

The shares are offered for sale through funds managed by the likes of the Swedish private equity giants Altor and IK Investment Partners.

The portfolio is valued at EUR 1.5 billion, equivalent to Skr12.5 billion.
At the completion of the deal, it may become the largest sale made by a European insurance company to date, according to figures from industry organizations which the Financial News has drawn from , reports the Swedish business daily Dagens Induistri.

The Swedish insurance company , however, has kept the information tightly sealed.
"We can not comment on rumors," said Lena Bivner, press officer at Länsförsäkringar to the paper, Dagens Induistri.
by Scancomark.se Team