Liberty Mutual completes Safeco acquisition
Liberty Mutual Group of Boston said today that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Safeco Corp. effective today.
In April, Liberty Mutual disclosed that it had agreed to buy Safeco, a Seattle insurance company, for $6.2 billion.
With the addition of Safeco, Liberty Mutual said today that it becomes the fifth largest property and casualty insurer in the United States, with more than $32 billion in direct written premiums based on 2007 results for both companies.
“The addition of Safeco enhances our ability to compete across a broad spectrum of markets served by independent agents and brokers,” Edmund F. Kelly, Liberty Mutual Group chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement today. “With our ascent among the top five US property and casualty insurers. we demonstrate the fundamental strength of Liberty Mutual Group’s businesses and balance sheet.”
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
