€14.4bn of insurance mergers and acquisitions announced in 2004

There was a number of niche market acquisitions in insurance highlighted by the UK closed life fund sector

€14.4bn of insurance mergers and acquisitions announced in 2004

In 2004, European financial services deal activity increased by a third in terms of total announced deal value to €44.8bn in 2004, an increase of €11.3bn from 2003, making financial services the second most active sector in Europe for M&A after pharmaceuticals, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the review and outlook for M&A in the European financial services market.