QBE Insurance Group Ltd., Australia’s biggest property and casualty insurer, raised A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) to shore up its capital and pay for acquisitions abroad.
QBE, also the biggest manager in the Lloyds of London market, sold 97.6 million new shares at A$20.50 apiece, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange today.
The company said yesterday it would spend $695 million on acquisitions, including U.S. insurer ZC Sterling Corp., to stem slowing profit growth. QBE will also buy two U.S. underwriting agencies and one in Europe.
Chief Executive Officer Frank O’Halloran has made 12 acquisitions this year after a failed A$8.7 billion bid for Insurance Australia Group Ltd.
QBE shares fell 2.2 percent to A$22.50 at the close in Sydney. They were at A$23 yesterday before being halted from trading ahead of the capital raising. QBE has dropped 33 percent this year, compared with a 40 percent slump in the six-company S&P/ASX 200 Insurance Index.
In addition to the A$2 billion share sale to institutions, QBE also plans to swap new five-year senior notes for Tier 1 perpetual securities with a face value of A$1.25 billion at a discount, it said.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news
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