Canadian financial services companies Fairfax Financial Holdings has agreed to acquire insurance and reinsurance company Brit Insurance for around US$1.88bn (£1.22bn).
Canadian financial services companies Fairfax Financial Holdings has agreed to acquire insurance and reinsurance company Brit Insurance for around US$1.88bn (£1.22bn).
Under the terms of the offer, Fairfax confirmed the Brit shareholders would be entitled to a 305 pence in cash per share including any final dividend for the year to 31 December 2014.
In response to the deal, Prem Watsa, chairman and CEO of Fairfax, said of Mark Cloutier, CEO of Brit: "We welcome Mark Cloutier and his market-leading specialty insurance and reinsurance team at Brit to our expanding global specialty platform."
Watsa said he believed that the deal would help Fairfax obtain a position at Lloyd’s of London. He said: "Brit has an outstanding track record over the last ten years and will continue to operate on a decentralised basis once owned by Fairfax. With the acquisition of Brit, Fairfax will have a significant top five position at Lloyd's of London. We look forward to working with Mark and the entire Brit team to further develop their business over the longer-term."
Brit Insurance operates in several locations including Bermuda, Chicago, Gibraltar, London, Shanghai and Tokyo. With Brit's growing presence in the US, Fairfax said the acquisition would further diversify the firm's risk portfolio.
Brit Insurance specialises in commercial insurance and reinsurance including areas such as energy, aerospace, aviation and global property.