Symetra Financial files registration statement with SEC for proposed initial public offering

Symetra Financial files registration for IPO

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Symetra Financial Corp. on Monday said it filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of common stock.

Symetra, which sells life and health insurance, and retirement and employee benefits products, has not yet named the price it expects for its shares or how much it hopes to raise in the IPO, though for purposes of calculating its registration fee, it estimated the offering’s maximum value at $575 million. It said its book value as of June 30 was $1.41 billion.

Symetra aims to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SYA.” Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Barclays Capital are acting as joint bookrunning managers on the offering.

Symetra said in the S-1 filing with the SEC its net income for the six months ended June 30 was $52.1 million, compared with $31.8 million for the first six months of 2008. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, it earned $22.1 million, compared with $167.3 million in 2007. The drop reflected $158 million in net realized investment losses.

Despite the losses related to the recent market turmoil, Symetra said it pursues a value-oriented investment approach and has built a conservative asset portfolio. Its portfolio does not include risky items that have caused problems for other companies, it said in the registration.