Novae shareholders accept £478m AXIS Capital acquisition offer

Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings said on Aug. 29 that Novae Group shareholders approved the terms of the acquisition offer which will form a global specialty re/insurer with gross written premiums in excess of $6 billion.

AXIS Capital Holdings said on Aug. 24 that it raised its cash offer to acquire Lloyd's property/casualty underwriter Novae Group to £477.6 million from £468 million.

Albert Benchimol, president and CEO of AXIS, commented: “The acquisition of Novae accelerates the growth strategy of our international insurance business, creating a $2 billion insurer in the London specialty market, while significantly scaling up our capabilities and enabling AXIS to even better serve our clients and brokers. We are excited by the possibilities this presents and look forward to welcoming the Novae team as we work together to achieve our shared ambitions.”

Matthew Fosh, CEO of Novae, commented: “We are pleased that Novae shareholders supported the transaction. We strongly believe that the combined company will be superbly positioned to compete in the international specialty insurance marketplace.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.

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