|
Allianz talking with Pimco
|
 |
July 8, 1999: 8:34 a.m. ET
German insurer says U.S. fund manager is among 'many' it has approached
|
LONDON (CNNfn) - Allianz, Europe's number-two insurance group behind France's Axa, confirmed Thursday it is in talks with U.S. fund manager Pimco Advisors Holdings over a possible buyout that would offer Allianz a coveted beachhead in America's lucrative investment market.
A deal could be valued at as much as $5 billion, according to uncorroborated reports.
Responding to an earlier report that the German insurance giant was contemplating a purchase of Pimco, an Allianz (FALV) spokesman told CNNfn that Pimco was among "many" companies with which it is discussing a strategic alliance or buyout.
Separately, Lee Thomas, Pimco's managing director and chief portfolio manager told Reuters Thursday that his fund had been approached by Allianz about a takeover.
But Thomas cautioned that Allianz is only one of many suitors that have made overtures to Pimco in recent years, and a positive outcome to the talks is far from a foregone conclusion.
"So let's just say it's not over until the fat lady sings, and I would not bet the farm that this suitor is going to be any more successful than some of the others that have approached us," he said.
On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that an Allianz takeover of Pimco could be valued at as much as $5 billion. The newspaper said an acquisition would mark a further push by overseas financial companies into the U.S. asset-management market.
Allianz, the newspaper said, is eager to bring Pimco's $250 billion of assets under management into its fold, along with Pimco's star fund manager, Bill Gross, who has racked up cumulative returns of 51 percent, outperforming the market.
Allianz has made no secret of the fact that is has been casting about for ways to penetrate the fast-growing investment markets in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Allianz already owns a controlling stake in Assurances Generales de France, and its U.S. subsidiaries include the wholly-owned Fireman's Fund Insurance Co.
Under new European accounting standards, the group is the second-ranked European insurer, behind Axa, and third in the world, after Axa and Japan's Nippon Life Insurance.
The company has a stated strategic goal to rank among the top five insurers in the United States. Among other priorities is expansion in the life and health insurance businesses; entry into new growth markets; expansion of asset management; and a top ranking in industrial insurance.
An Allianz official who requested anonymity rejected criticism from some quarters that Allianz has lagged in entering the U.S. market.
"[We've] made many big acquisitions in the last ten years. We have to build up our home base, our European base. It's a question of strategy, of resources. The goal in the U.S. market is the goal that Allianz has in Europe and elsewhere." 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Allianz
Pimco
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
