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Bid queue for RBS insurance auction
28.05.08
Royal Bank of Scotland will today receive the first formal bids for its £7.5 billion insurance business, which includes Direct Line and Churchill.
Up to seven bidders are poised to lodge their offers by the end of play today. RBS chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin put the insurance arm up for sale earlier this year as part of his efforts to strengthen the bank's balance sheet in the wake of the credit crunch and RBS's takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro. RBS is also in the middle of a £12 billion rights issue.
Leading potential bidders are said to include Zurich Financial Services, Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali and China's Ping An Insurance. Other possible buyers are American Insurance Group, Allstate and Travelers from the US and Germany's Allianz.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ruled itself out of the auction last week. Private-equity firms have not been allowed into the first stage of the auction process but could become involved later.
