Travelers Property Casualty Corp.'s much-anticipated initial public offering, slated to be completed by the end of March, was expected to raise up to $4 billion. That total would exceed the $3 billion raised last December by Prudential Financial, the largest U.S. insurance IPO to date.Travelers, one of the largest automobile, home and business insurers in the nation, planned to sell 210 million shares at $16 to $19 apiece, raising $3.4 billion to $4 billion, according to a March filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Citigroup announced in December it would spin off the insurer, selling 20% of the company to the public and giving the rest to its shareholders.
Travelers did not say how many shares it would have outstanding after the IPO, but assuming the 210 million shares to be sold represents a 20%, the insurer would have a total market value of about $17 billion to $20 billion, based on the price range provided.
In its initial filing with the SEC in February, Travelers stated that it would sell its CitiInsurance International Holdings Inc. unit to Citigroup for about $418 million, and pay a $1 billion dividend to Citigroup before the IPO. As a wholly owned unit, Travelers regularly made dividend payments to Citigroup from its earnings.
Travelers, based in Hartford, Conn., also said it would get some extra protection from the rising costs of asbestos insurance payouts. Under the terms of the spinoff, if Travelers records more than $150 million in unexpected, additional asbestos-related charges in any one fiscal year, after reinsurance, Citigroup will cover the amount, up to a limit of $800 million per year, after tax.
Travelers said it will offer Class A common shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "TAPa."
