American Financial Group Inc. said today it will buy the publicly traded preferred stock of its American Financial Corp. subsidiary.

The deal would pay $22 per share in common stock of the surviving corporation to holders of the preferred shares, simplifying the corporate structure and in effect merging the two corporations. To get the required shareholder approvals, AFG will delay its annual shareholders meeting, which usually is held in May.

Currently, AFG holds all of the common stock and 79 percent of the total voting securities of AFC.

Shares in AFG closed at $20.84, up 18 cents.