Share offer was to repay debt from two previous acquisitions
The US insurer thought to be trying to buy Quinn Insurance, Liberty Mutual, has postponed its planned $1.22bn initial public offering (IPO) of its property and casualty subsidiary, the FT reports.
It blamed “the stalled economic recovery” and a “volatile stock market” for stopping what would have been the biggest IPO in the US. The cash was to repay debts raised for previous acquisitions of Ohio Casualty in 2007, and SafeCo in 2008.
Edmund Kelly, the chairman and chief executive of Liberty Mutual, said: “The delay will not impact our business or our day-to-day operations. While we still believe this transaction is a useful step in giving the group additional capital flexibility, we have more than adequate capital to conduct our business successfully.”
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