Royal & Sun Alliance appoint float co-ordinators

British insurer Royal & Sun Alliance has appointed Goldman Sachs and Australia's Macquarie Bank as joint global co-ordinators for the float of its Australian and New Zealand businesses, sources said.

Industry sources also said Merrill Lynch, ABN Amro Rothschild, JBWere and JP Morgan had been appointed as co-lead managers for the initial public offer.

Industry sources have previously estimated that the group could raise more than A$2 billion from the float, making it the biggest planned for Australia this year.