A.M. Best Assigns Rating to American Financial Group, Inc.'s Recently Announced Senior Unsecured Notes

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

A.M. Best has assigned an issue rating of "a-" to the recently announced $300 million 3.5% 10-year senior unsecured notes of American Financial Group, Inc. (AFG) (Cincinnati, OH) AFG. The assigned outlook is stable. AFG's issuer credit rating of "a-", its existing issue ratings and the ratings of its operating insurance subsidiaries are unchanged.

The proceeds from this issuance will be used to fund a portion of the purchase price to acquire all of the common shares of National Interstate Corporation (NATL) NATL, not currently owned by AFG's subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company. The merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2016. Should the deal not consummate, the funds will be utilized for general corporate purposes, which may include stock repurchases. While AFG's financial leverage will modestly increase in the near term, it will remain within A.M. Best's guidelines to support its current ratings.

This press release relates to rating(s) that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page.

A.M. Best is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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