Zurich Allied Shareholders Approve Share Unification Plan

Shareholders in Zurich Allied, the Swiss component of Zurich Financial Services, approved the previously announced plan by company management to combine the shareholdings with Allied Zurich (AZ), the U.K. based segment of the company.

An extraordinary meeting is scheduled for June 20th when AZ shareholders’ will vote on the plan to issue one new share for 42.928 and to pay a cash dividend of 40 pence per share ( about 59 cents). Approval is expected.

When combined, the shares will be listed as Zurich Financial on the Swiss Stock Exchange in Zurich with a secondary listing in London. Conditioned upon regulatory approvals, the changeover should take place before the end of the year.

Zurich, which derives 47 percent of its life and non-life premium income from the U.S., then plans to list its shares on Wall Street in order to raise capital for additional investments in the U.S. market.