St. Paul Shares Rise After Denies Talks With Zurich
St. Paul Travelers Cos. shares rose in pre-market trading on Monday after the U.S. insurer denied it was in merger talks with Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services Group.
St. Paul's shares were up 70 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $42.25 in trading on the Inet electronic brokerage.
On Sunday St. Paul issued a statement denying recent reports that the two insurers were in merger talks to create a giant global insurer that could rival American International Group Inc.. The two would have combined annual revenue of over $90 billion.
Rob Haines, an insurance analyst with CreditSights in New York, said he believed no deal was imminent, but that "St. Paul's Chief Executive Jay Fishman is an acquisitive guy."
"Rumors about Zurich continue to float around and there's always a possibility that talks are going on," said Haines
Published on March 20, 2006
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