Allianz SE (ALV.XE) plans to buy primary insurer Provinzial
Nordwest Holding AG, an insurer owned by German public-sector
savings banks, daily Financial Times Deutschland reports Friday,
without citing sources.
According to the newspaper, Allianz is offering 2.25 billion
euros ($2.91 billion), equivalent to Provinzial's book value, and
Chief Executive Michael Diekmann met the insurer's three owners
recently to discuss the offer.
Spokespeople for Allianz and the savings banks in
Westphalia-Lippe declined to comment on the report. Spokespeople
for Provinzial and the other savings banks weren't immediately
available to comment on the subject.
According to the newspaper, Allianz's market share in core
German business segments is either stagnant or declining, which in
the past has prompted the company to make acquisitions in that
country. The last time it made an acquisition in Germany was 1994,
when it bought insurer Vereinte, the newspaper reports.
Newspaper website: http://www.ftd.de
Write to the Frankfurt Bureau at
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