Cyprus-based firm buys Russia's Kapital insurer for $500 mln

MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Kapital investment and finance group has sold its affiliate, Kapital Insurance, to a Cyprus-based company, Syneron Holdings Limited, for $500 mln, the company said Monday.

"We regard the deal a success, considering the investment made and the return on that investment," said Leonid Fedun, chairman of the Kapital group board of directors.

The insurer will use the Kapital brand for the next two years and will then be rebranded.

The insurer's 2007 premiums hit 29.8 billion rubles ($1.25 bln), while it paid out 23.3 billion rubles ($907 mln) in claims.

The group's clients include LUKoil, Russia's largest private oil producer, and its affiliates, as well as a number of energy companies and Moscow soccer club Spartak.