The sale of Slovenia's third largest insurer is to be completed in the second half of the year, and will make Generali the second largest insurer in the country.

The sale of 100% of Adriatic Slovenica is pending regulatory approval and the green light from the KD Group shareholders, KD Group said in a press release today.

"The acquisition offers us a number of business opportunities, such as reaching out to more potential clients," Generali said in a press release, quoting the CEO of the Slovenian branch, Vanja Hrovat.

Adriatic Slovenica holds 14% of Slovenia's insurance market, and also owns KD Skladi, one of the biggest asset management firms in SE Europe.

Last year, the group around Adriatic Slovenica generated EUR 11.4m in net profit, down 4.2% over 2016.

The group has more than 1,000 employees, and offers property, car, health, life and pension insurance.

It has more than 500,000 clients and 1.7 million insurance policies. It sold 304 million euro in gross premiums last year.

KD Group started looking for a buyer for Adriatic Slovenia last November and invited potential buyers to due diligence in March. In mid-May, it entered exclusive talks with Generali CEE.

Generali CEE is a holding company in charge of Generali companies in central and eastern Europe, Austria and Russia, including Generali's branch in Slovenia.

Generali entered the Slovenian market in 1997 as the first foreign insurer. With premium revenue of EUR 98m, it holds 4.9% of the market, which makes it the fifth largest insurer.

Generali is expanding also in Poland, where it is in the process of acquiring Concordia Capital and Concordia Polska TUW from their German owners.

Generali CEE director general Luciano Cirina said both acquisitions were another step to implement the group's strategy to improve its position in what the company considers a strategically important region.

Slovenia's largest insurer is Zavarovalnica Triglav, followed by Zavarovalnica Sava.