The merger of Helvetia and Nationale Suisse announced on 7 July 2014 will be finalised today, on 20 October 2014. Helvetia holds 96.29 per cent of the shares in Nationale Suisse. The combination of the two companies will create a strong new Swiss insurance group.

On 7 July 2014, Helvetia and Nationale Suisse announced their intention of merging to form a new insurance group. On 8 August 2014, Helvetia Holding AG ("Helvetia") published a public purchase and exchange offer for all publicly held registered shares of Schweizerische National-Versicherungs-Gesellschaft AG ("Nationale Suisse"). This offer has always been supported by Nationale Suisse. The Board of Directors of Nationale Suisse recommended its shareholders to accept Helvetia`s offer. All conditions of the offer have been fulfilled on today`s finalisation date. This includes the relevant competition and insurance supervisory authorities having granted Helvetia the necessary approvals for the acquisition of a significant stake in Nationale Suisse. The Helvetia Group currently holds 96.29 per cent of the voting rights and the share capital of Nationale Suisse.

Today, on 20 October 2014, the offer will be finalised through the issue of new Helvetia shares to shareholders of Nationale Suisse who tendered their shares under the offer, as well as through the payment of the cash component. The cash compensation for fractions will be paid on 22 October 2014. 20 October 2014 will also be the first trading day for a total of 1 236 656 newly issued registered shares from Helvetia on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Start of the integration of the two companies
The preparatory work for the combination of the two companies has been underway for several weeks already. Following the finalisation of the offer, the companies can gradually go ahead with concrete integration steps. In the coming months, a strong new Swiss insurance group will be created under the brand name of Helvetia. This new group will generate a premium volume of some CHF 9 billion and have profit potential of more than CHF 500 million. The new group will combine the proven strengths of the two companies, thus creating ideal conditions for healthy development in the future. The basis for this will be its strong position in Switzerland, attractive European market units and its special focus on international specialty lines.

In an initial step following the completion of the takeover, the Board of Directors of Nationale Suisse was appointed: Erich Walser, Stefan Loacker and Dr. Philipp Gmür completed the Board, with existing members Dr. Andreas von Planta and Dr. Balz Hösly staying on it. All remaining members of the Board of Directors of Nationale Suisse are stepping down. Erich Walser, Stefan Loacker, Dr. Philipp Gmür and Dr. Balz Hösly have been appointed to the Nomination & Compensation Committee, where they will join Dr. Andreas von Planta who remains on the Committee.