European banking and insurance services provider Zurich Financial Services has pulled out of a deal to sell its US-based auto dealer insurance business to Hellman & Friedman because final details could not be agreed.
According to Zurich, a consortium of proposed buyers led by private investment house Hellman & Friedman mutually agreed with the Swiss financial firm to break off the $1.1 billion purchase of Universal Underwriters Group, which provides specialty insurance to car, truck and motorcycle dealerships, because of their inability to agree terms.
Zurich said that since the announcement of the agreement last April, both parties had been working toward finalizing the transaction and had expected to complete in the third quarter of last year.
However as a result of being unable to complete the transaction at mutually agreeable terms both Zurich and Hellman & Friedman have agreed not to pursue the transaction any further and Zurich has decided to retain Universal Underwriters as part of its North America Commercial business division.