UPDATE 1-Czech group eyes stake sale in Pojistovna -paper

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PRAGUE, March 28 (Reuters) - At least four foreign bidders, including Europe's No. 2 insurer AXA , are in talks to take a minority stake in the biggest Czech insurance firm Ceska Pojistovna, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The business daily Hospodarske Noviny quoted two unspecified high-ranking officials at Pojistovna's sole owner PPF Group as saying that PFF was holding the talks but aimed to keep majority control over the firm after any stake sale.

Asked to comment on the report, a PPF spokeswoman said: "We have always been saying that we are considering various strategic options of Ceska Pojistovna's future development.

"However, this is a long-term process, and therefore we will not comment on specific speculations."

With some 13 million insurance policies, unlisted Pojistovna has more than a third of the local market and is PPF's biggest asset. It also owns the biggest Czech pension fund and insurance companies in Slovakia, Russia and Ukraine.

The newspaper reported, without quoting any source, that France's AXA was expected to be the most serious bidder.

Dutch financial services group ING , Belgian banking and insurance group KBC and German insurer Allianz were also expected to be interested, the daily said.

It also quoted PPF sources as saying PPF had also not given up an option of floating its insurance business on the bourse.

PPF is the sole shareholder of Ceska Pojistovna through the Amsterdam-based PPF Group N.V. holding vehicle, 95 percent owned by PPF Chairman Petr Kellner, the first Czech to be included in Forbes's billionaire list in 2006.

The group's insurance assets including Ceska Pojistovna are grouped under the Czech Insurance Holding (CZIH), which PPF has said might be floated on the stock exchange at some point.

PFF officials have also said that apart from an IPO, other financing possibilities include bonds or convertible bonds as well as other forms of funding.

PPF has been on an aggressive expansion trail and says it manages assets worth more than $10 billion. It is active in central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, China and Vietnam.