AMI Insurance, the Christchurch-based firm that was forced to seek a government bailout in the wake of the earthquakes, is nearing the end of its capital raising process, amid reports a rival is interested in the assets.
AMI's capital raising process is "coming to an end", a well-placed industry source said. Goldman Sachs & Partners, which has been advising on the sale process, had been actively shopping the AMI opportunity to potential bidders in the last three-to-four weeks.
AMI hired Goldman Sachs to advise on raising new capital after the government provided a $500 million financial backstop that allowed the insurer to cope with surging reinsurance costs and gross quake claims of almost $2 billion.
Radio New Zealand reported that Suncorp Group, the Australian owner of the Vero and AA Insurance brands, was a front-runner in the process, though IAG and Tower, which have expressed its interest in AMI publicly, had also received presentations on AMI's behalf.
Suncorp spokesman Jamin Smith declined to comment, while Tower managing director Rob Flannagan said the only announcement his firm planned to make this week was on its earnings.