French reinsurer Scor is holding discussions with Gerling on acquiring some of the German insurer’s reinsurance operations. Scor reported last week that the talks are nearing completion.

Gerling, which recently placed its troubled US reinsurance operations into run-off, has been seeking a partner since March. Its two main shareholders, Rolf Gerling and Deutsche Bank, injected about $1.2 billion into the company at the end of last year following an $896 million reinsurance loss.

Scor said it is considering buying all Gerling’s life reinsurance operations and some of its third-party non-life reinsurance business.

Gerling, which made its reputation in insuring and reinsuring large industries, would be a big bite for Scor. Standard & Poor’s put Scor’s A rating on negative CreditWatch following the announcement of the talks, saying it has doubts about the French insurer’s ability “to properly capitalise any newly formed group and successfully manage integration risks”.

European analysts have suggested that the complete sale of Gerling’s reinsurance operation would be welcome because the company’s insurance business remains profitable and could operate profitably without the drag of the reinsurance operation.