Norwegian insurer hikes FBD stake to 8.4%

Norwegian insurer Protector Forsikring has hiked its stake in FBD Holdings to 8.4 per cent, making it the third-largest shareholder in the Irish insurance company.

Shares in FBD spiked in the middle of last month when Protector Forsikring first emerged on the shareholder register, with a 6.3 per cent holding. However, the Oslo-based group's chief investment officer, Dag Marius Nereng, told The Irish Times that the stake was not a strategic investment but would be held in the company's investment portfolio, which has the equivalent of €1.5 billion of assets under management.

Farmer Business Developments, a vehicle through which original farmer shareholders remain invested in the business, is FBD’s largest shareholder, with a 24.3 per cent stake, followed by FBD Trust Company, at 8.5 per cent.

The Norwegian company’s business model is very different to FBD in that it is a commercial insurer, rather than a consumer one, focusing on public sector and property and casualty coverage.