Allianz mulls bid for The Hartford

Citing “people familiar with the matter” Bloomberg reported that Chubb’s $23.24 billion takeover bid had prompted Allianz to consider making an offer, but it was reluctant to “enter a pricey bidding war” with Chubb due to a “lack of synergies” between the two.

Deliberations are said to be at an early stage and Allianz “could likely” decide against making an offer. Under the leadership of Oliver Bäte, Allianz has mostly avoided major transactions. However, it did announce its acquisition of Aviva Poland for €2.5 billion last week, and earlier this month it announced that it has agreed to acquire Aviva Italia, the Italian P/C entity of Aviva Group, from Aviva Italia Holding for €330 million.

Allianz’ footprint in Europe is relatively small compared with Chubb’s and if Chubb acquired The Hartford, this imbalance would be amplified.

Following The Hartford’s rejection of Chubb’s offer last week, The Hartford’s market value increased to $24 billion.

Source: Intelligent insurer