Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali is a step closer to acquiring its smaller rival Cattolica after Berkshire Hathaway has tendered its stake in the latter.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has tendered its 6.93% stake in Cattolica, Reuters has reported.

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Generali, which already own a 24% stake in the insurer, launched a €1.17bn buyout offer for Cattolica in May this year.

Berkshire Hathaway is the second-largest investor in Cattolica.

Generali made a €300m investment in Cattolica last year and aims to further strengthen its domestic market dominance through the buyout offer.

Till now, 24.77% of the shares subject to the offer, or 18.9% of the total capital, have been tendered in the bid, the publication reported citing Borsa Italiana.

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Upon the completion of the bid, which is expected to happen on 29 October 2021, Generali would own a 42.6% stake in Cattolica.

Generali seeks to prevent foreign insurers from growing in the Italian market through the deal.

It will also establish Generali as the country’s largest player in the non-life sector, pushing UnipolSAI to second place.

In June this year, Generali finalised deals to purchase a majority stake in AXA Affin joint ventures and to purchase 100% of MPI Generali to bolster its business in Malaysia.

Through the AXA Affin deal, Generali seeks to become the second-largest property and casualty insurer in the country.

It will also mark its entry into Malaysia’s life insurance market.

Generali also applied to the regulator to acquire the remaining shares of MPI Generali and merge it with AXA Affin General Insurance.