QBE withdraws IAG bid
QBE has formally withdrawn its bid for Insurance Australia Group (IAG), vowing to concentrate on other acquisitions.
QBE chief executive Frank O’Halloran said his company understood that its final proposal on price had fallen well short of IAG’s expectations despite representing a very attractive premium of 22 per cent to the closing price of IAG shares of $3.79 on April 9, 2008, prior to opening discussions.
He said that with the significant synergy and diversification benefits of the merged group, IAG’s shareholders would have benefited from substantial earnings per share accretion in the first year as well as from QBE’s higher profitability and strong track record.
O’Halloran said QBE would continue to focus on the pipeline of acquisitions that has been accumulating in recent months, including a range of opportunities in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
With regional and rural suburbs exhibiting high spare capacity to invest, Money Management speaks to three regional advisers on the opportunities beyond the major cities and the importance of a strong network.
Platform consolidation is expected to accelerate among financial advisers this year, as software company Finura pinpoints which two platforms are set to be the winners, thanks to this trend.
The software provider has made several appointments in its APAC wealth propositions team, with a focus on driving growth across digital advice, Xplan and strategic partnerships.
The platform has announced it plans to close its Xplore managed discretionary account service in 2026 which holds $2 billion in funds under administration.
