ALLIANZ IS COMING TO AMERICA

Confirming earlier reports, Germany’s Allianz said it had won approval from the SEC to list its shares on U.S. stock exchanges. Most analysts said that Allianz would soon be in a position to seek further U.S. acquisitions, but concluded that the company was not in a great hurry to do so. In addition to its life insurance business and financial services, Allianz is the parent company of Fireman’s Fund, and has often said it was seeking to increase its share of the U.S. p/c market. According to a report from Reuters, speculation centers on some of the largest U.S. insurers, including Chubb, Hartford and The St. Paul Companies. The newly acquired availability of U.S. shares, and Allianz’s already formidable cash reserves put it in aposition to make somebody “an offer they can’t refuse.”