GERMANY - Insurance conglomerate Talanx has gained another corporate pension fund (Pensionskasse) following its €550m acquisition of nearly all the insurance operations of retail bank Deutsche Postbank.

In its deal with Postbank, Hanover-based Talanx will absorb the insurance operations consolidated under BHW Holding, including life insurer BHW Lebensversicherung and BHW Pensionskasse, a multi-employer pensions scheme launched in 2003.

BHW Lebensversicherung, which also provides private pension products, took in €337m worth of contributions in 2006, while contributions to BHW Pensionskasse totalled €13m. The units employ 93 people between them.

Talanx has also bought a 50% stake in Postbank's other insurance unit known as PB Versicherungen, that provides life insurance and private pensions and took in €252m in contributions last year. Postbank will remain its other 50% shareholder.

Including BHW Pensionskasse, the conglomerate Talanx operates three multi-employer Pensionskassen via ownership of German insurers HDI, Gerling and Neue Leben.
The other two are HDI-Gerling Pensionskasse and that of Neue Leben.

 HDI-Gerling Pensionskasse had assets of €273m last year and took in €127m in contributions.

All of Talanx's Pensionskassen follow a life insurance-type business model as they guarantee a minimum annual return of 2.25% on paid-in savings.

Talanx's asset management arm is AmpegaGerling, which moved its headquarters to Cologne from Hanover at the start of the year.

At last count, AmpegaGerling had €63bn in assets under management, €5.2bn of which were third-party in nature. Its chief executive is Harry Ploemacher.

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