Liberty Mutual To Buy Safeco For US$6.2bn

April 2008 | Top Stories

The April 23rd announcement by Liberty Mutual that it will buy Safeco Corp may be the first sign of insurance consolidation in the US. Liberty will pay US$68.25 per share for Safeco, a publicly listed insurer, representing a 51% premium on Safeco's April 22 closing price of US$45.23. This all cash deal will create the US' fifth-largest property and casualty insurer. Safeco has been reporting dropping profits for the last two quarters, with CEO Paula Rosput Reynolds calling Q108 'a quarter [it] wouldn't want to repeat'. Safeco is not alone; in fact, US insurance stocks fell by 15% in this

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