Post-merger ops begin for Austral Re and Terra Brasis

​Operations at a newly created, major reinsurer in Brazil, formed by the merger of Austral Re and Terra Brasis, began on Monday, December 2, as the business’ new brand was still being developed.   

The company, which has offices in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Bogota, will have close to R$2 billion ($475 million) of assets and net worth of almost R$400 million.

The international operation, focused on Latin America, is the main strategic pillar for the new company. Currently, foreign business represents nearly 18 percent of the portfolio of the reinsurer, which will strengthen its competitive position with the improvement of the geographic and product coverage.

"The post-merger goal is to leverage the business of our clients and partners by means of tailored and creative solutions to mitigate risks, with an agile and flexible service,” said Bruno Freire, CEO of the reinsurer. “Operational, administrative, economic and financial synergy and retrocession purchase generate scaled gains, leading the company from its very beginning to be better positioned to compete in strategic markets. We want to explore the market and have spared no efforts to seek solutions for each and every challenge faced by our clients."

Rodrigo Botti, CFO of the company, emphasised the vast potential to grow and develop the reinsurer in the most varied business lines. "There are possibilities both in the most traditional business lines and those yet to be developed or non-existent in our market," he said.

The combined operation is controlled by capital market company Vinci Partners whose partners are financial group the Brasil Plural group and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, which already has equity interest in both companies. The association does not interfere in the composition of Austral Seguradora, which is controlled by Vinci Partners.