The French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) has advised that re/insurers SCOR and Covéa end their conflict in order to avoid financial instability, according to reports from Reuters.
The two companies have been involved in a protracted dispute since SCOR rejected an €8.2 billion takeover bid from Covéa in September 2018, which it described as “hostile and unfriendly.”
SCOR alleges that Covéa and its CEO, Thierry Derez, who sat on SCOR’s Board at the time, are liable for breach of trust and revealing trade secrets, and has since pursued prosecution against them.
“It seems obvious to us, the authority of prudential control, that this conflict (should be) sorted out via dialogue and an amicable agreement,” Bernard Delas, Vice President of ACPR, told reporters this week. “Nobody has interest in letting that row last eternally.”
The regulator’s concern is based on the important role that each company plays in the French economy, as SCOR is the country’s largest reinsurer and Covéa is one of its leading property and damage insurers.
Delas is currently in touch with both sides, according to Reuters, but would not comment on what kind of agreement he would see as a solution to the dispute.
French newspaper Le Monde said ACPR is also talking to SCOR board member Augustin de Romanet and lawyer Antoine Gosset-Grainville on Covéa’s behalf.
SCOR faced vocal criticism from some of its shareholders after rejecting Covéa’ acquisition offer, in particular from the CEO of French investment management firm CIAM, who argued that the deal valued the SCOR generously.
CIAM has since condemned SCOR’s “incredibly aggressive legal strategy” and prompted a failed attempt to get SCOR shareholders to remove CEO Denis Kessler from company’s Board and slash his remuneration pay.
