All the shares of a new special purpose property company were acquired in the 2015 financial year through HR GLL Central Europe GmbH & Co. KG, Munich, a subsidiary of Hannover Re Euro RE Holdings GmbH, Hannover. The business object of the company is to hold and manage one property. The property was acquired on 30 October 2015 for a purchase price of EUR 103.8 million. No contingent liabilities or conditional payments as defined by IFRS 3 were identified.

In August 2015 the Group company Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America, Orlando, United States, established Sand Lake Re, Inc., the registered office of which is located in Burlington, Vermont, United States. The business object of the company, which is wholly owned by Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America, is to transact reinsurance business and conduct associated activities. The company was registered on 14 August 2015, but had not yet commenced its business operations as at the balance sheet date.

Within the 95.1%-owned US subgroup Hannover Re Real Estate Holdings, Inc., all the shares in each of three special purpose property companies were acquired in the second and fourth quarters of 2015 via the subsidiary GLL HRE Core Properties, LP, Wilmington. The business object of the companies is to hold and manage one property each. The properties were acquired on 1 and 24 July as well as on 23 November 2015 for a purchase price equivalent to altogether EUR 207.5 million. No contingent liabilities or conditional payments as defined by IFRS 3 were identified.

The company Hannover Re Global Alternatives GmbH & Co KG was established in March 2015 with its registered office in Hannover, Germany, and has been included in the consolidated financial statement with effect from the first quarter of 2015. Hannover Rück SE and E+S Rückversicherung AG, both limited partners, hold interests of 85% and 15% respectively in the company. The personally liable partner is HAPEP II Komplementär GmbH, also based in Hannover. The business object of the company is to build, hold and manage a portfolio of investments.

Within our subgroup Hannover Reinsurance Group Africa (Pty) Ltd, Johannesburg, South Africa (“HRGSA”), Compass Insurance Company Ltd, Johannesburg, acquired 60% of the shares in and hence control over Commercial & Industrial Acceptances (Pty) Ltd, Johannesburg (“CIA”), effective 1 January 2015 in the form of a business combination made in stages for the purpose of securing the insurance portfolio mediated by the company. CIA had previously already been included in the subgroup financial statement of HRGSA using the equity method of accounting because 40% of its shares were held by Lireas Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Johannesburg. The purchase price was equivalent to EUR 3.6 million and included contingent considerations. Within the scope of initial consolidation intangible assets in the form of customer relationships were identified with a value of EUR 5.3 million. The goodwill from this business combination amounts to EUR 1.8 million. In a similar transaction Lireas Holdings (Pty) Ltd increased its interest in Firedart Engineering Underwriters Managers Proprietary Limited (“Firedart”), which had previously been consolidated using the equity method, by 16.2% to altogether 70% and assumed control over the company effective 28 November 2015. The purchase price was equivalent to EUR 0.2 million. Within the scope of initial consolidation intangible assets in the form of customer relationships were identified with a value of EUR 0.7 million. The goodwill from this business combination provisionally amounts to EUR 0.6 million.