QBE Insurance has ended its pursuit of Insurance Australia Group (IAG) after the rival firm again rejected its takeover offer.
QBE informed the market late yesterday of its decision to end discussions with IAG.
The group will now focus its attention on alternative acquisition opportunities, QBE chief executive Frank O’Halloran said.
“QBE will now continue to focus on the pipeline of acquisitions that have been accumulating in recent months. The pipeline includes a range of opportunities in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia,” he said.
IAG were unable to recommend the merger proposal to its shareholders as it was deemed “inadequate”, a company statement to the Australian Securities Exchange said.
“During the past five weeks, IAG has engaged with QBE in discussions and held a number of meetings recognising that considerable synergies could be achieved through a combination of the two businesses. During these discussions QBE has had ample opportunity to put forward a proposal that recognises IAG’s value but has failed to do so,” IAG chairman James Strong said.
QBE advised IAG of its proposal to merge with IAG through a scheme of arrangement on April 15.
