Allianz may eschew major M&A, cherry-pick smaller assets to secure scale: CEO

Allianz will avoid major acquisitions and focus its M&A efforts on selecting well positioned smaller assets that cement the group’s leadership position in its key markets, chief executive officer (CEO) Oliver Bäte said Friday (February 18).

"We have no appetite for super large M&A," Bäte told the afternoon investor call following publication of Q4 earnings.

"We maintain a string of pearls acquisition strategy to make sure we strengthen our position across our markets," he said.

Recent deals for assets in the UK, Poland and Greece are representative of the Allianz appetite, Bäte indicated. The new Greek assets made Allianz number one in Greek P&C, Bäte said. "It's getting the scale we need."