NU Online News Service, Sept. 29, 1:10 p.m. EDT

Liberty Mutual Group said it is delaying its initial publicoffering of stock in Liberty Mutual Agency Corporation (LMAC)because the company believes it won't get the right price for thebusiness.

Liberty Mutual had hoped to sell 64.3 million shares for between $18 and $20per share under the NASDAQ symbol LMAC in order to raise about $1.2billion.

Citing what it called a "stalled economic recovery," anunpredictable market and undervalued stock prices in the propertyand casualty industry, Liberty Mutual Group called off the offeringwithout saying when it might offer the stock again.

"The delay will not impact our business or our day-to-dayoperations," said Edmund F. Kelly, Liberty Mutual Group chairmanand chief executive officer, in a statement. "We have more thanadequate capital to conduct our business successfully."

Liberty Mutual could not be immediately reached for additionalcomment.

LMAC consists of all of the operations conducted by LibertyMutual's Agency Markets unit, comprised of property and casualtyand specialty insurance carriers that distribute products andservices through independent agents and brokers.

Based on direct written premiums, Liberty Mutual Group is thefifth-largest p&c insurer in the United States, bolstered bythe recent acquisitions of Safeco Corp. in 2008 and Ohio Casualtyin 2007.

From 2005-2009, Liberty Mutual Group did not record a combinedratio under 100, according to figures from Highline Data,part of Summit Business Media, which publishes NationalUnderwriter. The combined ratio was about 103.3 at the end of2009.

During the same span Liberty Mutual Group recorded losses inunderwriting income, with a loss of nearly $659 million in 2009,according to Highline Data.

Net income for the group in 2009 was about $915.9 million,compared with about $2.4 billion in 2008.