£5.5bn insurance deal falls down
A £5.5bn takeover bid by Swiss insurer Zurich for UK counterpart RSA has fallen down.
RSA, the largest commercial insurer and owner of the More Than brand, said its suitor had pulled the plug on the proposed deal 550p per share deal amid a “recent detioriation” in Zurich’s trading performance.
RSA, which has around 1,500 employees in Liverpool, said that Zurich has confirmed to it that “due diligence findings were in line with their expectations” and “they had not found anything that would have prevented them from proceeding with the transaction on the terms announced on 25 August 2015.”
The Swiss company was more circumspect, stating only: “Zurich announces that discussions with RSA have now been terminated, and that Zurich does not intend to make an offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of RSA.”
The potential offer had represented a 26% premium to RSA’s closing share price on the day before Zurich confirmed its interest in late July and many analysts believe it would have been accepted by investors.
