WARREN: Somerset County-based insurance giant Chubb was sold to ACE Ltd. for $28.3 billion, Chubb announced Wednesday morning.
The combined company will keep the Chubb name and maintain its headquarters on ACE’s home turf in Zurich. Chubb’s offices in Warren will house a “substantial” portion of the the company’s North America operations, it said in a news release on Wednesday.
ACE’s Philadelphia operation will also play a significant role in the re-structured outfit, Chubb said. Chubb’s acquisition by ACE is the largest deal between two insurance companies, the Wall Street Journal reported. Chubb shareholders will receive $62.93 per share in cash and 0.6019 shares of ACE stock for a total value of $124.13 per share, based on Tuesday’s closing prices. ACE shareholders will end up with about 70 percent of the company, Chubb added.
The company will save about $650 million in overlapping expenses by combining operations, it said. Shareholders of both companies had nearly $46 billion in equity as of the end of last year on an aggregate basis, according to Chubb. They also had cash, investments and “other assets” of $150 billion.
Chubb president, chairman and CEO John Finnegan will work through the merger with a new title: Executive Vice Chairman for External Affairs of North America. He is expected to collect about $90 million in stock and severance, Philly.com reported. The deal should be wrapped up during the first quarter of 2016.
