Scor shares down 13% after confirming judicial probe

By Michael Jones

April 4 - (The Insurer) - Scor's share price fell by almost 13% on Friday after the reinsurer confirmed that it had been placed under "examination" in France.

The reinsurer's share price fell as low as 22.92 euros as of 1:02 p.m. CEST on Friday, down 12.8% from the previous close of 26.28 euros.

The stock recovered some ground to trade at 23.42 euros as of 2:46 p.m. CEST.

This followed Scor's confirmation that it had been placed under examination regarding alleged attempts to obstruct the acquisition of PartnerRe by Covéa Group in 2022.

“Scor SE has been placed under examination because of the alleged personal involvement of Denis Kessler in some of these facts, at a time when he was no longer Scor SE’s legal representative, but the non-executive chairman of its board of directors,” the reinsurer said on Friday.

Scor denies having had any direct or indirect involvement in the acts.

Kessler, who died in 2023, stepped aside as Scor CEO in 2021 but remained with the group as non-executive chairman.

French mutual insurer Covéa completed the acquisition of reinsurer PartnerRe from Exor in July 2022. Covéa paid a total cash consideration of $9.3 billion for the Bermudian carrier.

Scor said that being placed under examination does not impact its ability to pursue its activities in the normal course of business.

Shares in rival European reinsurers also fell in Friday trading after a broader financial market rout triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of global tariffs.

Swiss Re's shares were down around 8.1% from the previous close at 137.80 Swiss francs at 1.30 p.m. CEST. As of 3.34 p.m., its share price was 140.85 Swiss francs, down 6.1% on the previous close.

Munich Re shares were trading at 558.20 euros as of 1.30 p.m. CEST, down around 5.4% from the previous close. As of 3.33 p.m. CEST, its share price was 565.80 euros, down 4.1% on the previous close.

Hannover Re's shares were down 4.1% on the previous close to 268.30 euros as of 3.34 p.m. CEST. The stock reached a low point in Friday trading of 267 euros at 12.55 p.m. CEST, equivalent to a 4.6% fall.