5.3 Further corporate changes
Effective 1 January 2008 Hannover Rückversicherung AG, Bahrain Branch, which had received a corresponding licence in June 2007 from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), commenced business operations alongside the already existing subsidiary Hannover ReTakaful B.S.C. (c), which had been established in 2006.
Effective 1 January 2008 the company name of Hannover Rückversicherung AG Succursale Française pour la Réassurance Vie, a branch of Hannover Re, was changed to Hannover Rückversicherung AG Succursale Française and the object of its business was expanded to include non-life reinsurance activities for the markets of France, Belgium and Luxembourg. The service company Hannover Re Gestion de Réassurance France S.A. was also merged into the new composite branch with effect from the same date.
Effective 1 January 2008 Hannover Re and E+S Rück, which were equal partners in GbR Hannover Rückversicherung AG/E+S Rückversicherung AG-Grundstücksgesellschaft (GbR), liquidated the company. The partnership assets of GbR were divided equally between the former partners by way of de facto splitting. The transaction had no implications for the consolidated financial statement as at 31 December 2008.
With effect from 10 January 2008 the majority interest in Hannover Re has been held in an unchanged amount (50.22%) exclusively by Talanx AG, into which both HDI Verwaltungs-Service GmbH and Zweite HDI Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH were merged with legal force on the same date.
In the previous year Hannover Re acquired the 50% stake held by E+S Rück in Hannover Life Re of Australasia Ltd., Sydney, and thus held all shares in the company; full allowance was made for transaction costs. All intercompany profits arising out of this transaction were eliminated. Effective 31 March 2008 Hannover Re transferred its shares in the company at book value by way of a capital increase for a non-cash contribution to the former Zweite Hannover Rück Beteiligung Verwaltungs-GmbH, all shares of which were held by Hannover Re. Effective 1 July 2008 Zweite Hannover Rück Beteiligung Verwaltungs-GmbH was converted to Hannover Life Re AG, the registered office of which is in Hannover. The change in corporate form came into effect upon entry in the commercial register on 7 August 2008.