MetLife To Spend $110 Million On RGA Stock

November 07, 2003 at 07:00 PM

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NU Online News Service, Nov. 7, 2003, 1:21 p.m. EST – Reinsurance Group of America Inc., St. Louis, a publicly traded reinsurer, says it has decided to ask for $36.65 per share for an offering of 10.5 million new shares.

RGA hopes to raise more than $384 million through the offering, complete the sale by Nov. 13 and use the proceeds to finance and expand its reinsurance business.

RGA announced the offering Monday. RGA stock was selling for about $40 per share last week, but the price has fallen to about $37 per share since investors heard about the secondary offering.

RGA has 50 million shares outstanding. The total value of its shares gives it a market capitalization value of $1.9 billion.

MetLife Inc., New York, which owns 59% of RGA's shares, says it might spend $110 million to buy 3 million more RGA shares through the secondary offering. Earlier, MetLife had suggested it might buy 2.5 million to 3.75 million shares of the new RGA stock.

The underwriters have an option to buy up to 1.575 million extra shares at the offering price.

The joint book-running managers for the offering are Goldman, Sachs & Company, New York, and Lehman Brothers Inc., New York.

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