New York domiciled investment firm, Aquarian Holdings, has said in a statement that it has agreed to purchase a controlling interest in Bermuda-based reinsurer, Somerset Reinsurance, from shareholders.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and it’s understood that the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.
According to the statement, the purchase of a majority stake by Aquarian provides Somerset Re with “immediate and committed new capital to further drive growth.”
Aquarian Managing Partner and Founder, Rudy Sahay, said: “We look forward to further developing and scaling Somerset Re alongside CEO Jeff Burt and the management team, in partnership with their strong strategic shareholders.”
The statement also reveals that Hannover Re, one of Europe’s big four reinsurers and George Weiss, CEO of Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisors LLC and Somerset Re founder, will continue as strategic investors in Bermudian Somerset Re.
A report by Bloomberg UK, citing a representative of the investment firm, notes that Somerset Re had $5 billion in assets under management as of the end of 2021, which will be overseen by Aquarian’s investment division once the deal completes.
“I am delighted to partner with Aquarian and welcome their strategic investment in our platform as we continue to build on our well-established track record of success, alongside the continued support of our founder George Weiss and Hannover Re. Aquarian brings highly differentiated asset-management capabilities focused on the insurance market that will add to our long-term partnering and solution-oriented approach to servicing our customer,” said Burt.
Weiss added: “As CEO of Weiss Multi Strategy Advisers, I’ve been in this business for 43 years and as the founder of Somerset Re, I am absolutely delighted to partner with Rudy Sahay and the Aquarian team. I see great things ahead for this combined organization.”
Dr. Klaus Miller, Member of the Executive Board of Hannover Re, said: “We are pleased with the recognition of the success in our current investment and look forward to continuing our successful relationship and growing our collective businesses into the future.”
“We are very proud to have been part of the Somerset growth story with Jeff and the team in building a leading life reinsurance franchise over the past six years and wish them continued success for the future,” commented Colin Savage, Managing Director and Head of North American Investments for Atlas Merchant Capital.
