Shareholders of The St. Paul Cos. and Travelers Property Casualty Corp. on March 19 approved the merger of the companies.
Approval of the merger by Travelers shareholders is one of several approvals required before the deal can be closed. The merger remains subject to approvals from four more state insurance regulators, having already been cleared by seven states and federal regulators. The merger is expected to close in early April 2004.
On November 17, 2003, Travelers and The St. Paul announced the agreement that will create the nation’s second largest commercial insurer, to be known as The St. Paul Travelers Companies. The combined company will be a leading provider of property and casualty insurance products distributed through independent agents and brokers and one of the largest financial services companies in the nation.
The combined St. Paul Travelers Companies is expected to retain its personal and commercial insurance lines in Hartford, Conn., but its headquarters will be in St. Paul.
The approval by shareholders of the two companies came the day after the companies settled three shareholder lawsuits, which must still be approved by the court.
As part of their settlment of the class action suits by some shareholders, the insurers agreed to reduce a termination fee by $25 million to $275 million that each must pay to the other if the merger is canceled for certain reasons.
Last November, Travelers’ shareholders sued the company, claiming that the merger unfairly enriched management at shareholders’ expense. The suits were filed in Connecticut Superior Court.
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