Travelers, St. Paul merger to take effect April 1

Following shareholder support, and settlement of a shareholder lawsuit, the Travelers-St. Paul merger is set to take place April 1, the companies announce.Shareholders had approved the merger two weeks ago, with regulators following suit. The new company, St. Paul Travelers, will trade on the New York Stock Exchange as STA.The merger, which will create the second-largest commercial insurer in the U.S., was first announced last November. However, one stumbling block presented itself in the form of three lawsuits against Travelers by a group of four shareholders. As part of the settlement, Travelers and St. Paul amended to plan of merger, reducing the termination fee payable under certain circumstances to US$275 million from US$300 million. Travelers also agreed to provide additional disclosure in its proxy statement filed with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in February.