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Lincoln Nat'l unit for sale
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March 26, 1997: 3:02 p.m. ET
American States insurance unit valued at some $2 billion
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Lincoln National Corp. confirmed Wednesday that it is considering selling its American States Financial Corp. unit, a property-casualty business with a $2 billion market value.
Lincoln, which controls 83 percent of the unit and has previously shown an interest in such a sale, issued its confirmation following a statement earlier in the day by American States chief executive Robert Anker.
Anker said he had hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to seek out buyers.
"Consolidation trends in the property-casualty industry may make this an opportune time to fully realize the value of the company," Anker said in a statement.
He declined to release further details.
However, published reports Wednesday speculated that potential buyers included Travelers Property Casualty Corp., CNA Financial Corp. and Liberty Mutual Corp. as potential suitors.
Lincoln spun off American States into a separately traded company in May 1996.
At the time, analysts suggested Lincoln was already planning to sell the entire unit when the time seemed right.
On Wednesday, Lincoln Chairman Ian Reed said in a statement: "Lincoln National Corp. supports the efforts of American States Financial Corp. to explore its strategic options. Any proceeds from a sale of American States would be used by Lincoln to accelerate the profitable growth of our core businesses."
Market watchers view American States as an efficient operation. Last year, the unit earned $169.7 million on $1.98 billion in sales.
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