French insurer AXA (AXAF.PA) has no plans to merge with large rivals, its chief executive told a German newspaper, responding to recent speculation about a possible takeover of Italian peer Generali (GASI.MI).
“That makes no sense at all,” Thomas Buberl told Sueddeutsche Zeitung, adding that taking over large rivals would require too much capital and resources, keeping Axa from taking on what he said will be future rivals such as Google (GOOGL.O), Apple (AAPL.O) and Facebook (FB.O).
Speculation about a merger between the AXA and Generali has re-emerged in recent months.
“We are big enough,” Buberl, who took over as AXA’s CEO in September, was quoted as saying, chiming with recent comments from Philippe Donnet, CEO of Generali, who said the company was not planning to merge with AXA or with any other group.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Alexander Smith)
Recent Articles on M&A
Source: Reuters.com
