(Yicai Global) June 9 -- German insurer Ergo Group has paid CNY882 million (USD125 million) to become the second-largest shareholder in Taishan Property and Casualty Insurance with a 24.9 percent stake.

The investment is Dusseldorf-based Ergo’s first investment in China’s property insurance market, The Paper reported. The move also brings a large amount of private capital into the target, which is mostly owned by 12 state-owned companies managed by Shandong province, where the firm is based.

Taishan P&C Insurance had revealed in November that it was looking to bring on board an investor to take a near quarter stake in the firm. It made CNY9.5 million (USD1.3 million) in profit on insurance revenue of CNY2.3 billion (USD321 million) last year, with profit rising by almost half and income by 30.6 percent.

Ergo is part of Munich Re Group, the world’s leading re-insurance firm and risk manager, and already had a presence in China through a joint life insurance venture named Dehua Ergo Life Insurance. Shandong State-owned Assets Investment Holdings owns half of the venture, while Ergo Group and Ergo Life Insurance hold 20 percent and 30 percent stakes.

Editor: James Boynton