COBALT advised Gjensidige on the completion of the merger of Baltic companies

COBALT advised Gjensidige, the second largest Nordic and Baltic insurance group, which has finalized the merger of its companies in the Baltic States. Last year the Gjensidige Insurance Group acquired PZU Lietuva in Lithuania, and changed its legal name and form to ADB Gjensidige last March. Consequently ADB Gjensidige and AAS Gjensidige Baltic were merged on 31 October.

From now on, Gjensidige in the Baltics will operate as ADB Gjensidige with the head office located in Lithuania, and branches in Latvia and Estonia.

Marius Jundulas has been in charge of Gjensidige’s operations in the Baltics since October last year.

“We have completed the legal, technical and management processes related to the merger. Furthermore, we have integrated the activities, products, information systems and most importantly – we have settled our teams. Our goal is to become a leading player in the region and we have built a solid platform for a flexible and efficient organization to achieve that. This is exactly what our customers and partners expect from us,” says Marius Jundulas, CEO of ADB Gjensidige.

The transaction was implemented in cooperation with the law firm COBALT. “It was the first in-bound cross-border merger of Baltic insurance companies with the surviving company established in Lithuania and also the first cross-border merger where any Latvian company was merged into a Lithuanian company. Due to a complex corporate structure of the group, implementation of the merger required innovative solutions that have never been used in previous cross-border mergers.” – says Dr Juozas Rimas, Partner and Head of M&A practice group at the law firm COBALT in Lithuania.

„The Nordic insurance business is very well developed, – we have much to offer to our existing and new clients in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia“, – Mr. Jundulas concludes.

Gjensidige is a leading Nordic insurance group listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. We have about 3,900 employees and offer insurance products in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Baltic states. In Norway, we also offer banking, pension and savings. Operating income was NOK 24 billion in 2015, while total assets were NOK 129 billion.

COBALT has been advising Gjensidige in all phases of the transaction, including structuring of the transaction, drafting and negotiating of the transaction documents, regulatory and other legal matters pertaining to the Baltics. Project team included Dr Juozas Rimas, Partner and Head of M&A practice group and Associate Mantas Juška at the law firm COBALT in Lithuania, COBALT Partner in Latvia Toms Sulmanis and COBALT Partner in Estonia Pirkko-Liis Harkmaa.