Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. declined comment today on a Bloomberg report that the Hartford-based insurer is in talks to sell most of its unprofitable life insurance unit to Canada’s Sun Life Financial.
Breaking The Hartford in two and selling most of the life division, which has $247.9 billion of assets, is among the options being discussed, Bloomberg reported, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.
An agreement still may not be reached, said the people. The Hartford held separate talks with MetLife that ended last month, two of the people said.
“It’s not our policy to comment on market speculation,” The Hartford spokesman Debora Raymond told HBJ Today.
Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday downgraded Hartford Financial and its subsidiaries one notch, citing concerns about the insurer’s ability to raise capital in a worsening economy.
At 11 a.m., The Hartford traded at $4.72, up 9 cents, or 2 percent.
