A purchase of stock in Converium Holding Ltd, Zug, Switzerland, by a well-known Swiss investor is seen as a positive move by the reinsurer and an analyst.
Converium said today it has been notified that Patinex AG, Egglirain 24, 8832 Wilen, Switzerland, has acquired 12.49 percent of voting rights in Converium Holding AG--5.06 percent in the form of 7.4 million registered shares and 7.43 percent in the form of purchase rights, with entitlement to purchase 10.9 million registered shares.
Esther Gerster, Converium spokesperson, told National Underwriter that Patinex is "one of the companies of Martin Ebner, a well-known figure in the Swiss financial community."
Ms. Gerster noted this is a positive for Converium. "We appreciate the trust that Patinex shows with its increase in shareholdings," she said.
Rowena Potter, managing director of Standard and Poor's Ratings Services in London, said the purchase "could be positive because it shows some support of the company, which has gone through a struggle recently."
Converium's rating with S&P is still "Triple-B-plus" which is "not particularly satisfactory for a reinsurance company," she said.
"I would have thought that this sort of expression of confidence from an investor was possibly a good thing," Ms. Potter said.
She added that although S&P does not yet know the intentions of the investor, "the fact that he's Swiss perhaps is somewhat positive in that it shows a willingness of the Swiss 'establishment' to support a Swiss company."
According to Forbes.com, Mr. Ebner's net worth is $2 billion. Mr. Ebner founded his own investment vehicle, BZ Group Holding, in 1988 and has "frequently put his money to work in companies he believes could be better managed."
Mr. Ebner, the Web site said, holds large stakes in Nestle, ABB, the Credit Suisse Group, UBS, Bayer, Eli Lilly and Aventis. In January he doubled his 10 percent stake in Swiss insurer Baloise, according to the Web site.
ABB, a technology company, announced in October that Mr. Ebner resigned from its board for personal reasons.
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