MetLife Wants to Buy Rest of Conning

MetLife says it has proposed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Conning Corporation common stock it doesn't already control for $10.50 a share, cash. The insurance giant says this price represents a premium of approximately 20 percent above the average of the closing prices of the Conning stock over the past 20 trading days. MetLife acquired a more-than-60 percent interest in Conning as a result of its January acquisition of GenAmerica Corporation, Conning's indirect majority owner.

The transaction would be subject to customary terms and conditions, including regulatory approvals, and approval by the MetLife Board of Directors. MetLife reserves the right to amend or withdraw the proposal at any time in its sole discretion. MetLife stated in its proposal that it is not interested, under any circumstances, in selling its interest in Conning.

``MetLife recognizes Conning's premier position in the marketplace and believes it will make an important addition to the MetLife asset management family,'' said Gary Beller, MetLife general counsel and senior executive vice president. ``We look forward to working with its highly skilled staff and continuing to grow Conning's customer base while finding the right synergies with our existing asset management operations.''

MetLife plans, pursuant to the investment management agreement with Conning, to assume the management of the general account assets of General American Life Insurance Company that are currently managed by Conning. ``This is consistent with MetLife's general policy of managing the general account assets of its insurance affiliates which we consider to be a highly efficient approach,'' Beller said.

Conning provides asset management services primarily to insurance companies and institutional investors, manages private equity funds investing in insurance and insurance-related companies, and conducts in-depth research on the insurance industry.