NU Online News Service, Sept. 26, 12:19 p.m. EDT

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. may be in talks to acquire Harleysville Group based in Pennsylvania, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Talks were ongoing and could still collapse, the report says, citing anonymous sources.

In an e-mail today from Nationwide, Joe Case, a spokesman for the company, says the company continually reviews “potential opportunities that come to our attention, but we are not in a position to publicly comment or speculate on those opportunities.”

Randy Buckwalter, spokesman for Harleysville says, in an e-mail, “We don't comment on these types of matters.”

According to Highline Data, a Summit Business Media Co., that also owns National Underwriter, Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is ranked as the eighth largest property and casualty insurer in the United States with more than $14 billion in direct premium written in 2010. Harleysville is ranked 53 with more than $1.25 billion in direct premium written.

The Bloomberg story, which appeared Friday, is “Nationwide Is Said To Be in Talks To Buy Harleysville Group.”     

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