The decision was strategically prepared and has now been implemented: Austrian insurance group UNIQA has officially terminated its stake in SIGAL UNIQA Group Austria. This marks the end of an era of international partnership and the beginning of a new one under complete Albanian control.

The previous managing director and minority shareholder, Avni Ponari, is acquiring all shares and becoming the sole owner of one of the largest insurance groups in the region. According to a report by the Albanian business portal Monitor, UNIQA had already announced at the beginning of the year that it would withdraw from Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia in order to focus more strongly on its core markets.

This strategic realignment culminated in June 2025 with the final sale of UNIQA’s shares to Ponari – a step that has now been completed following approval by the competition authorities.

Ponari, who previously held a 10% stake in the group, becomes the sole owner of SIGAL, which will no longer bear the name “UNIQA” in future. According to Monitor, the deal was reached by mutual agreement, with no public disclosure of the purchase price. However, industry sources reported that internally, a sum of around €80 million spread over several years was being speculated.

The takeover has great symbolic significance: Avni Ponari was not only the first local entrepreneur to found an insurance company in Albania after the political change – he now also owns the entire company. In an interview with broadcaster A2CNN published as part of the transaction, he emphasized that it had “always been his goal to make SIGAL a 100 percent Albanian company – with European standards and international expertise.”

The economic figures underscore the significance of the deal: According to Monitor, SIGAL had assets of 20.6 billion lek, share capital of 5.4 billion lek and an annual surplus of 768 million lek at the end of 2023. SIGAL is also the undisputed market leader, with a 26% share of the non-life insurance segment and around 40% of the life insurance segment, according to data from the Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority (AMF).

SIGAL also has a strong presence in neighboring countries. In Kosovo and North Macedonia, the company operates through subsidiaries that are also affected by the takeover. As reported by CNA, the transaction covers all regional locations, meaning that the SIGAL brand will be wholly owned by Albanian interests in future.

UNIQA thus joins a growing list of international financial companies withdrawing from Albania. In recent years, several foreign banks have already sold their shares to local investors. This trend now seems to be continuing in the insurance sector.

A withdrawal with a signal effect

UNIQA’s decision does not mean a decline in the market – on the contrary: under Ponari’s sole leadership, SIGAL will have the opportunity to operate more flexibly, more quickly, and with stronger regional roots. The fact that the company is already one of the most modern insurers in Southeast Europe is the result of decades of development work – now continuing under national management.

Credits: https://sigal.com.al