American Financial To Book 4Q Gain On Verisk Sale

CINCINNATI (AP) — American Financial Group Inc. on Friday said it will report an after-tax realized gain of about $50 million after selling a portion of its holdings in Verisk Analytics Inc.

The gain will translate to about 42 cents per share, the insurance holding company said.

American Financial sold about 35 percent of its holdings in Verisk, formerly Insurance Services Office Inc., which provides actuarial and underwriting data to U.S. insurers.

The sale was made in conjunction with Verisk's initial public offering on Wednesday. The company raised $1.9 billion, one of the strongest IPOs of the year. The stock, which priced at $22, closed its debut session at $27.22. It has edged back since then, and was trading down 4 cents at $26.57 late Friday.

Half of American Financial Group's remaining holdings are Class B shares that will convert to Class A common shares in 18 months. The rest are Class B-2 common shares that will convert in two years to Class A shares. The company said the holdings have a cost basis of about $24 million, and are convertible to Class A shares worth about $178 million based on Thursday's closing price.

American Financial shares dropped 56 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $25.86 in afternoon trading Friday. That stock has changed hands between $12.77 and $26.63 in the past 52 weeks.