News In Brief

A controversial California-based insurance company has put itself up for sale, but under circumstances that may cause regulators to step in if a deal is reached, the Los Angeles Times reported. Aurora National Life Assurance Co. of Santa Monica, which has been negotiating with Zurich, Switzerland-based Swiss Re, is French-owned. But the California Insurance Commission, concerned that Aurora may yet be named in litigation involving insurance and junk-bond portfolios, wants to keep the proceeds of a sale from being taken to France, where they'd be out of its reach before the litigation is resolved. Aurora has 180,000 policyholders and $4.4 billion in assets.

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