Bonus’s acquisition of Austria’s Victoria-Volksbanken Pensionskasse (VVPK) and its Vorsorgekasse (VVVK) has passed its final regulatory hurdle.

In the wake of banking group Victoria-Volksbanken’s insolvency, Immigon, Austria’s bad bank, sought to offload the company’s non-core business.

The Bonus Pensionskasse, one of the smallest players in the Austrian pension fund industry, eventually won the bidding contest for both the bank’s pension and its provident fund. 

With the purchase now approved by the Austrian financial supervisory authority (FMA), Bonus Pensionskasse will more than double its assets under management, while Bonus Vorsorgekasse will see assets increase by 50%.

Peter Deutsch, chairman at Bonus, said he was pleased the transaction had been given regulatory approval.

He added that the company’s share of the multi-employer pension market had increased from 2.5% to 6.7% as a result and that it now counted among the four largest Vorsorgekassen in Austria, claiming a 10% market share. 

Bonus revealed in November that Generali Group, a shareholder in Bonus, would transfer its company pension plan to the multi-employer provider, a decision that has also received regulatory approval.

KPMG and law firm Schönherr advised Immigon on the sale of its stakes in the Pensionskasse and Vorsorgekasse.

Co-owner Ergo insurance group also sold its stakes in the VVPK and VVVK to Bonus.

The deal follows the sale of Victoria-Volksbanken’s KAG business, Volksbank Invest Kapitalanlagegesellschaft, to Germany’s Union Investment earlier this summer.

The KAG’s sale to Union was approved by the FMA earlier this year.

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