CORRECTED - PPF regroups insurance arms, sees IPO option

(Corrects name of new holding in paragraph 2 to Czech Insurance Holding from Czech Investment Holding)

PRAGUE, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Czech financial group PPF will combine its insurance, pension fund and asset management business into one group which might be floated on the stock market, the head of the new structure said on Thursday.

Ladislav Bartonicek, head of the new group under the working name Czech Insurance Holding (CZIH), said it could be floated within three months if its owners decided to do so.

He said a possible float of CZIH, which includes the largest Czech insurer Ceska Pojistovna, would depend on CZIH's need to fund potential acquisitions.

"Such a decision (to float) has not been made. The holding is built in a way that we have this opportunity. We are able to take that step within a quarter of a year after making the decision," he said.

"As we stand now, we have sufficient capitalisation, so we would only need further financing for new acquisitions."

He said the group, on an aggressive expansion trail, was looking at acquisition opportunities in non-life insurance business in the Ukraine, and is analysing the opportunity to enter Romania, Bulgaria and Belarus.

The restructuring should be completed by the end of the year, Bartonicek said.

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

CZIH will include insurer Ceska Pojistovna, pension fund Penzijni Fond Ceske Pojistovny, investment CP Invest, insurer CP Zdravi, PPF Asset Management, and foreign insurance affiliates CP Slovensko, CP Rusko, CP Ukrajina, CP Reinsurance Company, as well as a Kazakh insurance arm that is being set up.

PPF, owned by Czech financier Petr Kellner, has another division active in consumer lending, called Home Credit.

PPF says the entire group manages assets worth 220 billion crowns ($9.74 billion). ((Reporting by Jan Korselt, writing by Jan Lopatka, editing by Will Waterman/Paul Gallagher; prague.newsroom@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: jan.lopatka.reuters.com@reuters.net; +420-224 190 474)) ($1=22.59 Czech Crown)

Keywords: FINANCIAL CZECH INSURANCE