MILAN (Reuters) - Shares in Assicurazioni Generali (MI:GASI) rose strongly on Monday following a report at the weekend about bank Intesa Sanpaolo (MI:ISP) and Germany's Allianz (DE:ALVG) being interested in Italy's biggest insurer.
La Stampa daily reported on Saturday Intesa is studying a possible investment in Generali which could be part of an accord with the German insurer. Under the deal, Allianz could take over some assets of the Trieste-based company.
Intesa Sanpaolo declined to comment. By 0819 GMT shares in Generali rose 5.1 percent to 14.42 euros after hitting a high of 14.68 euros earlier in the session. Traded volumes are already 60 percent of the daily average of the past month.