LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Britain's RSA Insurance
said on Wednesday it had received a cash offer worth 7.2 billion
pounds ($9.55 billion)from Canadian insurer Intact Financial
and Danish insurer Tryg.
RSA said its directors had unanimously backed the bid and
recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the consortium's
offer, which the insurer had first flagged earlier this month.
Best known in Britain for its More Than brand, RSA provides
home, motor and commercial insurance and has large operations in
Canada, Ireland and Scandinavia.
If successful, the suitors would carve up RSA with Intact
keeping RSA's Canada, UK and international operations, while
Tryg would take control of RSA's Sweden and Norway businesses.
The pair would also co-own RSA's Danish unit.
Tryg would pay 4.2 billion pounds while Intact would
contribute 3 billion pounds, with the overall offer representing
a 51% premium to RSA's closing share price of 460 pence on
November 4.
"Our deep knowledge of these markets makes us ideally placed
to integrate, operate and enhance the value of our combined
group over the long-term," Morten Hübbe, chief executive of
Tryg, said in a statement.
($1 = 0.7539 pounds)
(Reporting by Iain Withers, editing by Sinead Cruise)
