The Talanx insurance group is making its largest takeover since its IPO ten years ago, making it number three in the property and casualty business in Latin America. Talanx is taking over the private customer business in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador from the American insurer Liberty Mutual for EUR 1.38 billion, the company announced in Hanover on Saturday.

Along with Mexico, Poland and Turkey, Brazil and Chile are among Talanx's declared core markets abroad. The subsidiaries acquired by Liberty Mutual, which are managed under the name Liberty Seguros, together with 4600 employees, have a gross premium volume of the equivalent of 1.7 billion euros.

For Talanx, this represents a major leap forward in South America. Last year, the HDI International division generated premium income of around EUR 1.4 billion in Brazil, Colombia and Chile. According to its own figures, Talanx has risen to number one in property insurance in Chile and number two in Brazil. "The acquisition fits seamlessly into our strategy to achieve market-leading positions in our core markets through organic and inorganic growth," said CEO Torsten Leue. In the future, 45 percent of business with private customers and small companies outside Germany will come from Latin America.

The purchase will improve earnings and return on equity quickly after the closing expected in the first half of 2024, Talanx announced. The group does not need a capital increase for this: The billion-dollar purchase could be financed from its own funds, said a spokesman.

Liberty Mutual, a Boston-based mutual insurance company, had put its Latin American business – as well as that in parts of southern Europe – up for sale some time ago and hired investment bank JP Morgan to do so. According to reports, Generali and Zurich had also expressed interest in it. Liberty's reinsurance business in South America is not part of the sale.