Delta Lloyd says no to €2.4 billion NN takeover bid

Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd decided to reject a 2.4 billion euro takeover offer made by rival NN Group, Reuters reports. According to Delta, the bid was too low at only 64 percent of the insurer's book value as of June 30th. Delta called the offer "below market norms for cash transactions of this type and for companies at our stage of recovery", according to Reuters. "Our capital is now solid with the opportunity to improve further capital generation and dividends", CEO Hans van Noordaa said. "In light of this, we cannot accept this proposal." The NN offer amounted to 5.30 euros per Delta share. At the time Delta Lloyd shares closed at 4.12 euros. After the NN bid was announced on Wednesday, Delta shares shot up to 5.26 euros on Thursday.