Allianz lines up £2bn offer for sought-after Government asset

Allianz is preparing a £2bn bid for the Channel Tunnel rail link put up for sale by the British coalition government, according to The Sunday Times.

The German insurer has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch as its adviser, the report said without naming sources. Allianz declined to comment on the report.

The Telegraph said Allianz's bid joins a long list of possible suitors including CKI, the investment group owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and two consortiums; Eurotunnel, Goldman Sachs and M&G in one and 3i, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Morgan Stanley in the other.

The 68-mile railway linking London to the Channel Tunnel is one of the most highly sought-after assets being sold by the Government in the current round of privatisations.

The insurer said in January it was looking for alternative investments and could raise its private equity investments to around 30 billion euros in the coming years.

Topics