QBE QBE Insurance Group Limited

   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE, Australia--Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) said it plans to sell as much as 40% of its Australian insurance business through an initial public offering in the first half of the year.

The move represents Genworth's latest attempt at securing an Australian listing for the unit, which rivals QBE Insurance Group (QBE.AU) as the dominant mortgage insurance provider by market share. Genworth put plans to raise as much as US$850 million through an IPO of its Australian business on hold two years ago, after forecasting the unit would make a quarterly loss.

In a U.S. regulatory filing, the Virginia-based company said Genworth Australia wouldn't keep any proceeds from the IPO, which is subject to market conditions. Funds raised would instead be used to repay debts between Genworth and its other units.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

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