QBE Insurance , Australia's biggest insurance group, is not planning a large capital raising at this stage to fund an acquisition of U.S. insurer Balboa from Bank of America , a source told Reuters on Friday. QBE is expected to announce plans on Friday to invest in the insurer, the source with knowledge of the matter said, in a deal which investment bankers and analysts have said could fetch $1.5 billion to $2 billion. There was widespread speculation Thursday that QBE would raise up to $1 billion to fund the deal, but the source downplayed those reports on Friday. QBE shares were placed in a trading halt on Thursday. (Reporting by Michael Smith; Editing by Ed Davies)
Source
