Swedish Club, Skuld end merger talks

Swedish Club, Skuld end merger talks Two Scandinavian-based suppliers of protection and indemnity insurance to the shipping industry are ending merger talks after four months of negotiations.
   Norway's Skuld said it was 'surprised and disappointed' by the Swedish Club board of directors' decision that they were against the proposed merger.
   The Swedish Club said that while 'exploratory discussions, opened earlier this year, revealed many positive synergies between the two Clubs,' and that 'the talks were pursued in an amicable atmosphere, and the decision not to proceed was taken after much consideration.'
   Skuld said it believed a merger of the two mutual P&I clubs 'would have been a sound industrial solution in the best interest of the two associations' members facing coming challenges of the industry.'
   The insurance broker Marsh had said in a report in October that the combined companies would have been the fifth-largest P&I mutual in terms of entered owned tonnage and the sixth in terms of P&I total gross premium, which would have totaled about $245 million.
   Marsh commented in a report that 'from a Scandinavian point of view Marsh expects the merged group to be a commercially stronger facility than the current positions of each individual association in sum.'
   Skuld said, 'The decision is not based on any outcome in the due diligence process or other findings in Skuld's operations. As far as we understand, their decision is influenced by feeling a lack of equality between the parties.'