Fosun said to have approached Alleghany about buying division/s; Swiss Re also believed to be circling US insurance group - part 2

I see The Insurance Insider is backing up one of my tales from a couple of weeks ago.

Readers might recall I wrote that Chinese group Fosun and insurance giant Swiss Re had both been sniffing around Alleghany after the US group hired Goldman Sachs to advise on strategic options. Here is a link to that piece: http://betaville123.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/fosun-said-to-have-approached-alleghany.html

Fosun said to have approached Alleghany about buying division/s; Swiss RE also believed to be circling US insurance group

I'm hearing from top sources that Fosun, the fast growing private Chinese conglomerate, is interested in buying parts of Alleghany Corporation, the US-listed insurance group.

Indeed, I have been told Fosun - which is run by entrepreneur Guo Gaungchang, often dubbed the 'Warren Buffett of the East' - has already expressed an interest in purchasing divisions of Alleghany.

Quelle surprise: Agnellis launch multi-billion dollar insurance/reinsurance takeover deal

It would appear Exor - the Agnelli family trust - has bitten the bullet and moved on from buying a 20pc stake in Swiss Re.

Exor - controlled by chairman and CEO John Elkann - has just announced it is launching a $6.4 billion all cash takeover offer for US-listed insurance and reinsurance company PartnerRe, trumping a previous $11 billion merger with Axis Capital. Here is a link to the Exor press release:

Swiss posturing

Swiss Re this morning announced it is proposing a 10pc increase in its ordinary dividend to 3.85 Swiss francs a share and also additional special dividend of 4.15 Swiss francs a share. See the link: http://www.swissre.com/media/news_releases/nr_20140318_agm.html

Agnelli family said to be in talks to buy 20pc of Swiss Re

I think I might have landed another genuine scoop. Here it is:

I understand a trust controlled by Italy's Agnelli family has been holding talks with Swiss Re about buying a 20pc stake in the insurance giant worth up to 8bn Swiss Francs.