ZURICH (AFX) - Zurich Financial Services CEO Jim Schiro spoke several times a week on the phone with AIG's Hank Greenberg in the winter of 2004/5, and the Swiss insurer's top management hoped for an offer before Greenberg's departure last March caused an abrupt end to this 'exchange of ideas', NZZ am Sonntag reported citing well informed company sources.
The two men 'did not talk about golf', the paper cites its sources as saying, and Schiro has been intensively seeking talks with other US insurers.
On Friday Zurich's shares rose sharply on a report in the Wall Street Journal saying St Paul Travelers was in talks to make an offer for Zurich.
St Paul has since denied the talks were taking place. afx.zurich@afxnews.com scs COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited