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"Generali
does not plan to leave France," one of the sources said.
Earlier Bloomberg had said Allianz, Europe's biggest insurance
company, was considering making a bid for Generali's French
operations, although it was uncertain whether a deal could get
the approval of competition regulators.
France accounts for about 15 percent of Generali’s gross written
premiums, its third-largest market after Italy and Germany.
Generali and Allianz declined to comment on the report.
Shares in Generali jumped nearly 6 percent to 14.91 euros, to
their highest level since January, before easing back to trade
up 2.7 percent at 14.55 euros by 1142 GMT. Allianz's share price
was up 0.5 percent at 157.55 euros.
Allianz Chief Executive Oliver Baete has said that the German
insurer is looking out for opportunities to make acquisitions
but it is not easy to find attractive targets at a reasonable
price.
The company said last month it could return 2.5 billion euros
($2.6 billion) from its budget for acquisitions to shareholders
in the form of share buybacks.
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro in Milan and Alexander Huebner
and Kathrin Jones in Frankfurt; Writing by Maria Sheahan;
Editing by Greg Mahlich)
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