Cash.ch : Axa boss reiterated his dislike of major acquisitions - no interest in

Axa boss reiterated his dislike of major acquisitions - no interest in Generali
The French insurer Axa has no interest in a big takeover. A possible purchase of the Italian rival Generali, for which a long time and in recent days again increased takeover speculation, Axa boss Thomas Buberl again gave a clear cancellation.
01/25/2017 07:44
If someone wants to play the consolidator in the industry and clean up the market, he can do that, he said on Tuesday evening at an event of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" in Bergisch Gladbach. "Our strategy is not that." He had already said last autumn that the purchase of a big rival like the Generali or Zurich for the Axa "no sense at all".
A large acquisition would not be well received on the financial market either. A leading insurance analyst had called him in connection with the new rumors of a generali takeover and said in English: "Thomas, if you do, you will be crucified." But he would not be crucified, said Buberl.
The German manager, who came to the top of the French insurer last year, sees the future of the industry increasingly on the brink of traditional business, such as advising customers on the prevention of risks. A generali takeover by the Axa had been speculated again and again last summer - until Buberl had denied the whole thing.
Nevertheless, market speculations have always been speculating that Axa could be a prospective buyer - especially as the new Generali boss Philippe Donnet comes from the French. Last but not least, a different constellation developed.
On Tuesday evening, Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo confirmed that she was thinking about joining Generali. The speculations were recently boiled up by a report from the Italian daily La Repubblica. The price of the Generali shares then rose by more than ten percent to the highest level since the beginning of 2016. The insurer is thus worth about 24 billion euros on the stock market.
According to Intesa's management, the company continues to examine every opportunity to improve the competitive situation of its own company. Options include a combination with Generali. This possibility, like other alternatives, is currently under investigation by the bank management.
At the weekend, the newspaper "La Stampa" had already reported that Intesa wants with the support of the German insurer Allianz in the larger style at Generali einsteigen./stw/zb/fbr