Generali’s MetLife gambit hits price snag, sources say

Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali has held talks with US rival MetLife Inc to buy the bulk of its European assets but discussions have stalled due to differences over price, four sources told Reuters.

Generali, which ranks as Europe’s third biggest insurer, first approached MetLife earlier this year offering to take on most of its underperforming European business, whose adjusted earnings slipped 4 percent in the third quarter, the sources said.

But talks dragged on for more than six months and were hampered by management changes at MetLife, they said.

The US insurer runs the bulk of its European assets out of Ireland, where its main subsidiary has operations in 11 countries including Britain, Italy, Spain and France.

MetLife controls three other subsidiaries active in Europe and known as MetLife Europe Insurance, MetLife Greece SA and MetLife TUnZiR in Poland.

The sources said Generali had carried out due diligence on all the divisions, aiming to buy most of the operations including activities in Greece and Poland.

[Reuters]