CORRECT(3/6):QBE To Buy HSBC's Insurance Unit In Argentina - Reports
March 07 2012 - 2:51PM
Dow Jones News
Australia's QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (QBE.AU) is close to
acquiring the Argentine insurance arm of global banking giant HSBC
Holdings PLC (HBC, HSBA.LN), local press said Tuesday.
The deal is part of a larger transaction worth nearly $1 billion
that includes HSBC insurance assets in other countries, newspaper
Clarin reported, citing unnamed sources at the bank.
Newspaper La Nacion also named QBE as the buyer of general
insurance company HSBC La Buenos Aires Seguros SA, without saying
how it obtained the information.
HSBC La Buenos Aires had 398.3 million pesos ($91.8 million) in
net premiums during the July-Sept. period of 2011, according to
insurance regulator SSN.
Spokesmen for HSBC and QBE declined to comment on the
matter.
In a statement Tuesday, QBE said it is in the "final stages of
negotiations" of bolt-on acquisitions that it expects will generate
annualized gross written premiums of about $500 million.
QBE, which operates in 49 countries, has grown through a steady
string of acquisitions in Asia, the U.S. and Latin America in
recent years. The Australian insurer reported gross written
premiums of $18.3 billion in 2011.
Last year, HSBC said it would sell its global general-insurance
operations as it seeks to slash costs and focus on its banking
operations.
-By Ken Parks, Dow Jones Newswires; 54-11-4103-6740;
ken.parks@dowjones.com
--Jessica Hodgson contributed to this article.
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