Delta Lloyd IPO priced around 16 euros

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd's initial public offering has been priced around 16 euros (14.4 pounds)-- at the lower end of an indicated range -- due to the recent slump in financial stocks, a Dutch newspaper said on Tuesday.

"Not completely at the bottom but around 16 euros per share," Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad cited an anonymous banker involved in the IPO as saying. The stock is expected to begin trading on Tuesday.

Last month, UK insurer and majority shareholder Aviva , which wants to free up capital and potentially make acquisitions, said it wanted to sell up to 42 percent of existing Delta Lloyd shares between 15.50 and 19 euros.

Aviva (LSE: AV.L - news) and Delta Lloyd are expected to announce the pricing of the IPO before 8 a.m. British time, when Delta Lloyd shares are set to begin trading on the Amsterdam exchange.

The offering, valued at 1.1 billion euros based on a price of 16 euros, would be Western Europe's biggest this year and the second-largest for the whole of Europe, after that of Polish utility PGE, which was worth $2.1 billion (1.28 billion pounds).

The Dutch paper cited a second banker as saying that changes in the market since October 19, when Aviva announced the price range, were a reason for the pricing at the lower end of the range.

The DJ European Insurers index has dropped 10 percent since October 19, partly because breakup fears for state-aided banks has hit financial shares and due to general concerns stocks may have rallied ahead of the recovery.

(Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger; Editing by Anshuman Daga)