Westpac’s general insurance operations could soon become part of the Allianz family.
The Germany-headquartered insurer is said to be in advanced talks to snap up the Sydney-based business. The likely price tag stands above AU$500 million (around NZ$536.5 million), according to the Street Talk section of the Australian Financial Review.
It is not clear whether the ongoing discussions are exclusive in nature, but sources of the publication indicated that the two camps have been at it for a while. Additionally, the report cited Allianz as being in the process of running due diligence.
Earlier this year, Westpac chief executive Peter King announced a detailed strategic review on the best options for the bank’s businesses where the group doesn’t have sufficient scale or where the returns are insufficient for the risk. These include superannuation and insurance.
