Generali: strategy in motion - FT.com Czech it out. Assicurazioni Generali boss Mario Greco is serious about emerging market growth and keeping the Italian insurer focused on its core business of selling insurance - instead of dabbling in corporate Italy. Generali's €2.5bn buyout of Czech businessman Petr Kellner's 49 per cent stake in the pair's Generali-PPF joint venture will deepen the Trieste-based company's presence in central and eastern Europe. And it will all be done without asking the insurer's shareholders for a cent. No wonder they welcomed it, despite the experience of Italian banks UniCredit and IntesaSanpaolo in Italy's backyard. The initial €1.3bn payment in the two-stage buyout will give Generali 25 per cent by the end of March; the rest will be paid by the end of 2014. Both will be funded from internal resources, as boosted by disposals and retained earnings. The two stages are less about Generali's cash than about keeping Mr Kellner on side as the insurer takes full control. Paying a pre-crisis level of 11 times earnings, Generali-PPF is no steal. Generali has, however, secured a lower price than the €3bn touted last summer. The venture agreement allowed little wiggle room: the price floor was set at the higher of €5bn or fair market value. Mr Greco struck his deal at the bottom valuation, before the value of the business went out of reach. Premium growth in rebounding Russia was 80 per cent in the third quarter. For now Generali looks capable of funding growth with asset sales, such as its US reinsurance business and Swiss private bank BSI. If that heralds a decisive longer-term shift from its stakes in Mediobanca, RCS MediaGroup, Pirelli or Telecom Italia, a re-rating is Mr Greco's to lose. Fixing Generali also requires debt reduction, and capital flexibility if a decent emerging market target crops up. All the more reason to set out capital priorities at Monday's strategy day.