Cendant-American Bankers Merger Off

Cendant Corp. paid $400 million in cash to American Bankers Insurance Group Inc. to call off their $3.1-billion marriage, the companies said. Parsippany, N.J.-based Cendant, a franchiser whose brands include Howard Johnson hotels and Century 21 real estate brokers, also said it will buy back $1 billion of its stock. Cendant’s shares have plummeted since its disclosure in April of bookkeeping irregularities that are the focus of a federal probe. On the NYSE, Cendant shares fell 25 cents to close at $9.38, before the companies announced their deal was dead. American Bankers fell $1.81 to $33.50.