Vienna Insurance Considers Hungary Joint Venture to Save Aegon Deal
- Hungary vetoed planned purchase of Aegon units in region
- Austrian insurer may take cue from 2015 Erste-Orban detente
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Vienna Insurance Group AG is discussing adding a Hungarian partner to its proposal to buy Aegon NV’s eastern European arm to overcome government resistance to the deal, according to people familiar with the situation.
The insurer is racing to rescue the 830 million-euro ($1 billion) deal with Aegon after Hungary surprisingly refused to approve it this month. Vienna Insurance, one of the industry leaders in the former communist part of Europe, wants to keep control of the unit and consolidate it in its books, while it’s unclear if the Hungarian side would accept a minority stake, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential matters.