Business

Published: Wednesday February 15, 2012 MYT 9:21:00 AM

Paulson demands breakup of The Hartford


BOSTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) Famed hedge fund manager John Paulson on Tuesday demanded that insurer The Hartford Financial Services Group break itself into two companies, escalating a confrontation with management that began with screams on a conference call last week.

Investors appeared to welcome the ninepage proposal from Hartford's largest shareholder as the stock rose 6.5 percent in afterhours trading.

The Hartford said on Tuesday evening that it recognized the potential benefits of a spinoff and looked forward to continued dialogue with Paulson and other shareholders. "We are evaluating the company's strategy and business portfolio with the goal of delivering shareholder value," it said.

On a Feb. 8 conference call with analysts, Paulson angrily insisted the company needed to take "drastic" action after management said a breakup into two companies faced too many challenges to work.

The exchange quickly drew attention in the investment world, not only because the normally cool Paulson became so obviously irritated, but because it illustrated how one of the industry's most powerful managers was flexing his muscle to benefit shareholders' bottom line.

On Tuesday, Paulson rejected management's assertions on insurmountable challenges and said a taxfree spinoff of the property and casualty insurance business would give shareholders as much as 60 percent more value than they are getting now.

"Given the extremely poor performance of Hartford's stock and the fact that Hartford trades at lower valuation multiples than any of its U.S. insurance peers, addressing these issues should be Hartford's highest priority," Paulson said in a letter to management.

Shares of The Hartford trade at a substantial discount to book value, even more so than their peers in the property insurance sector, and they also trade at a lower pricetoearnings ratio than peers in the life insurance business. The fund manager blamed the company's structure.

"The main, but not the only, reason for Hartford's low multiple is because the company combines both a Life and a P&C business together," he said.

Paulson's push is the latest challenge for the Hartford, one of the oldest companies in the United States. During the financial crisis it was one of only three insurance companies to receive a government bailout.

Chief Executive Liam McGee, a former top Bank of America executive, came in to try and turn the company around. But following a fourthquarter report last week that missed some Wall Street expectations, analysts said the company was likely to face increased pressure to restructure somehow.

Paulson made the argument that most large multiline insurers have chosen to split off one side of the business or the other, and he said shareholders were "entitled to expect the management and the board to show leadership" on the issue.

Insurers have been on the receiving end of investor outrage before, though rarely has it been carried this far.

In late 2010, hedge fund manager Steve Eisman threatened the management of Hartford peer Genworth Financial on a conference call, saying he would launch a proxy fight unless it improved returns. Eisman never made good on the threat.

More recently, the largest shareholder in reinsurer Transatlantic Holdings scuppered a deal with peer Allied World, saying the offer undervalued the company.

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