Scor has denied that any takeover negotiations have taken place with Covéa after this publication revealed earlier today that the French mutual had renewed its 2018 attempt to buy the reinsurer.
In a statement responding to queries from other media, issued almost 12 hours after Scor declined to comment on the story to Insurance Insider, the company said: “No M&A talks with Covéa have taken place in any way.”
“Scor has strong growth prospects and is well positioned to create value for all its stakeholders on a standalone basis.”
French press reports citing “sources close to Covéa” also disputed the report of talks.
The statement followed this publication’s report this morning in a joint investigation with UK deal reporting website Betaville that talks had taken place between the two parties. The story noted that options on the table included both a full takeover of Scor, and Covéa taking a stake in a structure paralleling Talanx and Hannover Re.
Scor’s shares shot up 6.3% to EUR19.88 ($21.92) after the report, compared to a prior close at EUR18.70 on Monday.
In the report, this publication noted that talks could seem incongruous to many, given the history between the two companies, which stems from Covéa’s 2018 attempt to buy Scor.
The reinsurer is shielded from takeover by a seven-year hands-off clause included in the 2021 peace agreed by the two carriers, but this would not prevent a friendly deal.
This second approach comes amid an ongoing dispute between the pair concerning a retrocession contract in which Covéa reinsures 30% of the life and health (L&H) business that Scor writes through its Irish entities.
Covéa’s second attempt also comes amid the reinsurer’s continued underperformance, with various remedial actions under new CEO Thierry Léger yet to shift its stubbornly low share value and price-to-book ratio compared to those of its peers.
In Scor’s Q2 results, it disclosed a serious blow in the form of a EUR227mn operating loss due to a EUR400mn negative insurance service for the L&H segment.