The Office of the Insurance Commissioner will hold a formal hearing to determine whether to approve the purchase of the Safeco Group by the Liberty Mutural Group on Sept. 10.

Liberty Mutual and Safeco announced in April that they had agreed to a $6.2 billion sale, pending approval. If the sale is approved, Safeco would change from a publicly traded corporation in the state to a privately held company in Delaware.

The Safeco Group, includes Safeco Corp., Safeco Insurance Co. of America, First National Insurance Co. of America, General Insurance Co. of America and Safeco Surplus Lines Insurance Co. and their many subsidiaries.

The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. in the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, at 5000 Capitol Blvd in Olympia. Information of the sale can be found at the agency's Web site.