Brit Insurance bought by Fairfax

Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH), through its runoff subsidiary, RiverStone, has purchased all of the outstanding shares of Brit Insurance Limited (BIL) from the Brit Group.

BIL, which wrote UK domestic, as well as some international, insurance and reinsurance, was placed into runoff earlier this year.

The transaction, which is subject to customary conditions including regulatory approval, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Prem Watsa, chairman and chief executive officer of Fairfax, said, “We think that this is an excellent acquisition by Nick Bentley and his experienced team at RiverStone. We continue to look for opportunities to grow profitably in the runoff area.”