Anbang pulls plan to buy Iowa insurer

China-based Anbang Insurance Group Co has withdrawn its application to the New York Department of Financial Services to acquire Fidelity & Guaranty Life (FGL) and plans to refile "in the near future", according to a regulatory filing.

The insurer, which agreed in November to pay $1.6 billion to buy Des Moines, Iowa-based FGL, will continue to seek regulatory approval from the Iowa Insurance Division, according to the filing on Tuesday from FGL.

FGL didn't say why the New York request was pulled. The New York department said in a statement that had numerous conversations with Anbang for information necessary to review and process its application, but that the company had failed to provide it. The department did not explain what information it had sought. The Wall Street Journal said it was about Anbang's ownership structure.

The deal was supposed to be completed in the second quarter, the firms have said. "The parties are committed to securing the remaining regulatory approvals and seek to close the merger as expeditiously as possible," FGL said in the filing.

FGL has about $25 billion in assets and is majority-owned by HRG Group Inc, the investment firm backed by Richard Handler's Leucadia National Corp. Anbang has won approval for the takeover from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Anbang emerged as one of China's most prominent overseas acquirers, seeking deals for real estate and unlisted equities.

In March, a group led by Anbang abruptly scrapped a $14 billion takeover offer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., clearing the way for acquisition by Marriott International Inc.