In the largest ever initial public offering (IPO) by an insurer, Travelers Property & Casualty Corp. raised $3.9 billion in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

"This spin-off positions Travelers Property Casualty to participate independently in the accelerating consolidation of the insurance industry."

Travelers sold 210 million shares of common stock for $18.50 each in its IPO on March 21, 2002, near the top of the $16 to $19 per share range proposed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares then hit Wall Street on March 22, 2002, at $19.55 and ended the day at $19.56, up 5.7 percent from the offering price.

"This spin-off positions Travelers Property Casualty to participate independently in the accelerating consolidation of the insurance industry," says Robert Lipp, chairman and chief executive officer of Travelers and a Citigroup director.

The Travelers IPO beat out the December 2001 IPO of Prudential Financial Inc., both in price and in volume, to become the largest insurance IPO ever. Prudential raised $3.8 billion by selling a total of 126.5 million shares after bankers bought 16.5 million shares in addition to the 110 million first sold.

The bankers handling the Travelers IPO still have the option to purchase another 21 million shares above the 210 million currently in the market.

Prudential's IPO eclipsed the previous record held by MetLife's April 2000 IPO that raised $2.9 billion.

Citigroup plans to spin off its remaining majority interest to Citigroup shareholders by the end of the year. Travelers now trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "TAP.A."