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CONTACT:
John Cusolito
617-574-5512
john.cusolito@libertymutual.com
DATE: July
19, 2001
LIBERTY
MUTUAL GROUP ACQUIRES ROYAL & SUN ALLIANCE OPERATIONS IN SPAIN
Second
Acquisition For Company In Spain This Year
BOSTON
-- Liberty Mutual Group today announced that it plans to purchase
Royal & Sun Alliance's property and casualty and life insurance
operations in Spain. The acquisition will significantly expand Liberty
Mutual Group's Spanish operations, which started when its subsidiary
Liberty International acquired Liberty Seguros, a personal property
and casualty and life insurance company, from The Hartford Financial
Services Group in February 2001.
Under the agreement,
Liberty Mutual will acquire Royal & Sun Alliance's Spanish company,
Royal & Sun Alliance Spain, the result of an ongoing merger of Royal
& Sun Alliance's companies that underwrite personal auto, homeowners
and life insurance in the Spanish market. Royal & Sun Alliance's
combined Spanish operations had net written premium of nearly Euros
350 million (approximately US $300 million*) in 2000. The combined
auto and non-life operations of Liberty Seguros and Royal & Sun
Alliance Spain will place the Liberty Mutual Group within the top
10 personal insurance providers in Spain. Royal & Sun Alliance Spain
has announced operating profits of Euros 13.4 million (approximately
US $11.4 million) for the first half of 2001.
Liberty Mutual
is acquiring Royal & Sun Alliance Spain for a purchase price of
Euros 220 million (approximately US $188 million). Liberty Mutual
and Royal & Sun Alliance expect to complete the transaction before
the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.
"This acquisition
builds on our competitive base in Spain by providing a strong strategic
and operational fit with Liberty Seguros," said Edmund F. Kelly,
Chairman, President and CEO of Liberty Mutual Group. "We are delighted
to add the product portfolio, management expertise, distribution
channels and extensive market knowledge of Royal & Sun Alliance
Spain to our existing operations."
Liberty International,
which provides distinctive insurance and reinsurance products and
services, has operations in Argentina, Australia, Bermuda, Brazil,
Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, Thailand,
the United Kingdom and Venezuela.
Boston-based
Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified international financial services
group of companies and one of the largest multi-line insurers in
the property and casualty industry. The group has more than $54
billion in consolidated assets, more than $67 billion in assets
under management, $13.5 billion in consolidated revenue and ranks
121st among the Fortune 500 largest corporations in the United States.
The A.M. Best Company has rated Liberty Mutual "A+" (Superior).
Along with
being the leading provider of workers compensation insurance, programs
and services in the United States for nearly 65 years, Liberty Mutual
provides a wide range of products and services, including general
liability, commercial auto and business property; group life and
disability; private passenger auto and homeowners insurance; individual
life and annuities; international programs, and financial services.
Recognized
as a world leader in occupational health and safety services, the
company employs 37,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout
the world. (* All figures translated from Euros to US dollars at
an exchange rate of .85)
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