British motor insurer Direct Line to pay special dividend

May 29 (Reuters) - Britain's largest motor insurer Direct Line Insurance Group Plc said it would pay a special dividend of 27.5 pence per share following the completion of disposal of its international division.

The insurer said the special dividend would equate to about 412.5 million pounds and would be paid as interim dividend for the financial year ending December 31, 2015.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the FTSE-100 company were up 0.5 percent at 338.8 pence at 1141 GMT.

Direct Line had said in September it would return most of the net proceeds from the sale of its Italian and German businesses to Spanish insurance company Mapfre (Xetra: CMAB.DE - news) for 550 million euros last year.

Direct Line, whose brands include Churchill, Privilege and the Green Flag roadside recovery service, also said it would propose a share capital consolidation alongside the special dividend.

Shore Capital's Eamonn Flanagan told Reuters the dividend payout was in line with expectations.

Deutsche Bank (Xetra: 514000 - news) analyst Oliver Steel said in September Direct Line shareholders should expect up to 26 pence once the deal is finalised. (Reporting by Aashika Jain in Bengaluru; editing by Andrew Roche)