Allianz Is Said to Progress in Talks for Malaysian Car Insurer
Allianz Is Said to Progress in Talks for Malaysian Car Insurer
(Bloomberg) -- Allianz Malaysia Bhd. has been chosen to progress in talks to acquire Malaysia’s second-biggest car insurer after edging out Japanese rival Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., people with knowledge of the matter said.
AmGeneral Insurance Bhd.’s owners have decided to enter detailed discussions with Allianz on a potential deal, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. They have applied for Malaysian central bank approval to allow Allianz to conduct due diligence on the business and formally proceed with negotiations on terms of a transaction, one of the people said.
The insurer could be valued at about $800 million in a sale, the people said. AMMB Holdings Bhd. and Insurance Australia Group Ltd., which jointly own AmGeneral, haven’t ruled out pursuing a deal with other suitors should talks with Allianz falter, according to one of the people.
A representative for AMMB said nobody was immediately available to comment. Representatives for Allianz, IAG and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance declined to comment.
Any deal could encourage Prudential Plc and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., which have also been considering selling stakes in their Malaysian insurance units. Bloomberg News reported last month that Allianz Malaysia and Mitsui, a unit of Japan-listed MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc., were shortlisted to bid for AmGeneral.
Kuala Lumpur-listed AMMB owns 51 percent of AmGeneral, while IAG holds the remainder. An acquisition could also include a bancassurance agreement, which would give the buyer the right to distribute insurance products through AMMB’s branch network, people familiar with the matter said last month.
AmGeneral is the country’s second-biggest auto insurer with a market share of 15 percent, its website shows. It ranked fifth in the overall Malaysian general insurance market as of the first half of 2018. The company has more than 4 million policies and a network of 7,000 agents and dealers.
--With assistance from Komaki Ito.
To contact the reporters on this story: Joyce Koh in Singapore at jkoh38@bloomberg.net;Elffie Chew in Kuala Lumpur at echew16@bloomberg.net;Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net, Timothy Sifert
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