A purchase of stock in Converium Holding Ltd, Zug, Switzerland,by a well-known Swiss investor is seen as a positive move by thereinsurer and an analyst.

Converium said today it has been notified that Patinex AG,Egglirain 24, 8832 Wilen, Switzerland, has acquired 12.49 percentof voting rights in Converium Holding AG--5.06 percent in the formof 7.4 million registered shares and 7.43 percent in the form ofpurchase rights, with entitlement to purchase 10.9 millionregistered shares.

Esther Gerster, Converium spokesperson, told NationalUnderwriter that Patinex is "one of the companies of Martin Ebner,a well-known figure in the Swiss financial community."

Ms. Gerster noted this is a positive for Converium. "Weappreciate the trust that Patinex shows with its increase inshareholdings," she said.

Rowena Potter, managing director of Standard and Poor's RatingsServices in London, said the purchase "could be positive because itshows some support of the company, which has gone through astruggle recently."

Converium's rating with S&P is still "Triple-B-plus" whichis "not particularly satisfactory for a reinsurance company," shesaid.

"I would have thought that this sort of expression of confidencefrom an investor was possibly a good thing," Ms. Potter said.

She added that although S&P does not yet know the intentionsof the investor, "the fact that he's Swiss perhaps is somewhatpositive in that it shows a willingness of the Swiss'establishment' to support a Swiss company."

According to Forbes.com, Mr. Ebner's net worth is $2 billion.Mr. Ebner founded his own investment vehicle, BZ Group Holding, in1988 and has "frequently put his money to work in companies hebelieves could be better managed."

Mr. Ebner, the Web site said, holds large stakes in Nestle, ABB,the Credit Suisse Group, UBS, Bayer, Eli Lilly and Aventis. InJanuary he doubled his 10 percent stake in Swiss insurer Baloise,according to the Web site.

ABB, a technology company, announced in October that Mr. Ebnerresigned from its board for personal reasons.