LONDON (March 28): Chubb Ltd's US$23 billion takeover offer for Hartford Financial Services Group Inc has prompted Germany's Allianz SE to study the feasibility of a counter-offer, according to people familiar with the matter.

Europe's biggest insurer is discussing its options with potential advisers, said the people, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. While Allianz views Hartford as one of the remaining property and casualty insurance targets with scale in the US, it is also reluctant to enter into a pricey bidding war with Chubb because of a lack of synergies between the two, the people said.