Greenberg’s Aquiline commits $500m to form new reinsurer

Armour, a P&C run-off insurance business, has raised some $500 million in equity commitments in partnership with an investor group led by Aquiline Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm. It will form a new reinsurer with the money.

The investment proceeds will be used to fund the formation of a new reinsurance group, Armour Group, which will co-invest in global P&C run-off transactions in parallel with the group’s affiliates. The investment will also provide growth capital for the Armour team and platform to execute on the expanding run-off market opportunity.

As part of the transaction, the former Armour holding company will rename itself Trebuchet Holdings and transfer the Armour brand name to the new group. Trebuchet Holdings will also contribute its existing P&C run-off platform to the newly established holding company, including the firm’s claims management operation (Armour Risk) and, subject to certain approvals, the group’s affiliate ILS Investment Management, which will continue its existing business.

Headquartered in Bermuda, Armour was founded in 2007 by Brad Huntington and John Williams.

“Aquiline’s investment in Armour reflects the growing demand for run-off as an option for insurance companies that are looking to solve deteriorating reserve positions and optimize their capital,” said Jeff Greenberg, chairman and chief executive of Aquiline.

“We are excited to partner with the highly-experienced team at Armour and believe that their ILS management capabilities provide a strong competitive differentiator. The formation of our permanent capital vehicle provides the team with the full toolkit to capitalize on the market opportunity.”

Armour founder and CEO Huntington added: “We are excited to have Aquiline as a partner as we enter our next phase of growth. Given Aquiline’s deep insurance industry experience, we believe they are an ideal partner to help us grow the team and scale our operation.”

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