OREANDA-NEWS. October 03, 2007. Ukraine hosted a tender for the sale of a state-owned shareholding in Ukraine’s national joint insurance company Oranta (NJSIC). Major CIS financial groups bid for the stake. JSC "Bank TuranAlem", Kazakhstan, JSC Bank CenterCredit, Kazakhstan, and Russia’s OJSC Alfa Bank were among bidders, reported the press-centre of JSC "Bank TuranAlem".

Bank TuranAlem (BTA) won the tender paying 500,75 million hryvnya ($99,2 million) for a 25% plus one share in NJSIC Oranta. Meanwhile, Alfa Bank retired with an offer of $98.2 million.

Chairman of BTA Board of Directors Mukhtar Ablyazov indicated, "Insurance is a core business of BTA not only in Kazakhstan, where its subsidiary insurers dominate the market, but also throughout the CIS, in particular in Ukraine. The acquisition of a 25% stake in Oranta is a landmark for us towards the consolidation of BTA insurance assets with a view to make governance of the major Ukrainian insurer more efficient."

Member of BTA Board of Directors Yerkin Tatishev has confirmed, saying: "The bids were high, but we are ready to make investments in the acquisition and development of the company. Moreover, in the future we will invest to the extent it is necessary to develop the company and make it an ultimate leader on the insurance market of Ukraine."

Chairman of the management board of Oranta JSIC Oleg Spilka commented on the deal saying, "The bid of Bank TuranAlem is high enough for any business, the more so for the insurance market, however it is absolutely justified givev Oranta development rates. Premiums collected by the Company for the first 9 months of 2007 soared by more than 60%. We view the share purchase by Bank TuranAlem extremely favorably as the deal confirms credibility of the investor’s mind as regards the further development of the Company."

Chair of the Ukrainian State Property Fund Valentyna Semeniuk maintains that the price paid for Oranta JSIC stake is unexampled. "We thought we'd get 200 million-250 million hryvnya," stated Semeniuk adding, "However, the bidder doubled the expected price. Beyond dispute, these are significant revenues to the state budget of Ukraine. This tender was fair and transparent."