(Bloomberg) — With Zurich Insurance Group AG on the verge of pursuing its biggest acquisition in more than a decade, Europe is poised to add to the consolidation that is sweeping the industry globally.
RSA Insurance Group Plc shares surged almost 20 percent on July 28 after Zurich said it was considering an offer for the London-based provider of property and auto coverage. Zurich is said to be raising financing ahead of a potential offer for $8.7 billion RSA, people familiar with the talks said last week.
Insurance companies worldwide have been targeted in about $64 billion of acquisitions so far in 2015, more than double the amount in the same period a year ago. While the U.S. and Bermuda accounted for the lion's share, cash-rich European firms face the same pressures that are driving consolidation elsewhere, raising the specter that others such as Allianz SE and Axa SA may follow Zurich and seek bigger transactions.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.