Failed Income acquisition: Allianz shareholders may baulk at taking on social mission: Lawyer

WHILE the deal between Allianz and Income Insurance seems faultless from a monetary perspective, market observers have said that the government is right to focus on Income’s social mission because of its unique history as a co-operative.

They added, however, that they expect that the move to block the deal from going through in its current form is an exception to the growing number of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the insurance sector.

In a parliamentary sitting on Monday (Oct 14), the government announced that it was rejecting the German insurer’s bid to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Income, and cited two main reasons.