Reinsurance News
Watford Holdings
Watford Re relaunched as Somers Re, Liz Cunningham to lead as CEO
4th November 2021
Watford Holdings and Watford Re have been renamed Somers Group and Somers Re, respectively, according to a statement from Arch Capital Group and its two investment partners Warburg Pincus and Kelso. Headquartered in Bermuda, the name is a nod to the island’s founder Sir George Somers and part of a wider ... Read the full article
Watford Re no longer under review as more de-risking expected
8th October 2021
AM Best has decided to remove Watford Re from under review with negative implications status, as the company is expected to continue to work towards de-risking its investment portfolio. Watford Re was placed under review in May 2020 after reporting a net investment loss of $300 million in the first ... Read the full article
Arch wraps up $622mn Watford acquisition
2nd July 2021
Arch Capital Group has officially wrapped its $622 million acquisition of Watford Holdings, roughly eight months after first signing a merger agreement. Arch and investment partners Kelso and Warburg Pincus pursued the merger agreement through an affiliated entity of which Arch owns approximately 40%, and funds managed by Kelso and Warburg ... Read the full article
Watford wraps up Axeria acquisition
12th April 2021
Bermuda domiciled re/insurance company Watford has completed its purchase of French property and casualty insurer Axeria, having acquired 100% of the capital stock from the APRIL Group. The deal was first announced in December 2019, and will see Watford acquire a company with in-force gross written premiums of approximately €140 ... Read the full article
Watford’s underwriting loss narrows, as investments drive profit
10th February 2021
Bermuda domiciled re/insurance company Watford Holdings has reported net income of $61.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with a net loss of $16.9 million for the same period in the previous year. This was despite recording an underwriting loss of $9.1 million for the period, which was nevertheless ... Read the full article
Arch steps up Watford pursuit with Enstar-backed revised offer
2nd November 2020
Arch Capital and Watford Holdings have agreed a revised acquisition agreement that would see Arch purchase Watford at an increased price of $35 per share, or approximately $700 million. It's worth noting that 9.1% shareholder Enstar has entered into a voting support agreement with Watford and Arch, committing to vote all of ... Read the full article
Investment income saves Watford from Q3 loss
30th October 2020
Bermuda domiciled re/insurance company Watford Holdings has posted a net income of $78.1 million for the third quarter of Q3, as strong investment returns offset an underwriting loss. Watford’s net investment income for Q3 2020 was $92.8 million, a significant improvement on the $14.0 million that it posted for the same ... Read the full article
Enstar’s latest Watford bid could lead to a “Superior Proposal”
20th October 2020
The unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Enstar Group Limited to acquire the common shares of Watford Holdings Ltd. could reasonably be expected to lead to a "Superior Proposal" as defined in Watford's merger agreement with Arch Capital Group Ltd., according to the firm's Board of Directors. On October 15th, legacy acquirer ... Read the full article
Enstar ups bid for Watford to $686mn, threatens legal action over Arch deal
15th October 2020
Legacy acquirer Enstar has written to the board of Watford Holdings offering a revised acquisition offer of $686 million, as well as strongly criticising its handling of previous takeover attempts and subsequent agreement with Arch. It was confirmed earlier this week that Arch had reached an agreement with Watford to ... Read the full article
Arch to buy Watford Re in $622mn deal
9th October 2020
Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer, Arch Capital Group Ltd., has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all the common shares of total return reinsurer, Watford Holdings Ltd., in an all-cash transaction valued at roughly $622 million. The deal is expected to close in the first-quarter of next year, following which, Watford ... Read the full article
Enstar looks to buy Watford Re
1st October 2020
Enstar Group Limited recently delivered a letter to the Board of Directors of Watford Re indicating its desire to acquire all of the company's outstanding shares, after raising its stake in the reinsurer in the third-quarter. According to a recent sec filing, on September 30th, 2020, Enstar sent a letter to ... Read the full article
Arch Capital eyeing $500m acquisition of Watford Holdings: reports
9th September 2020
A consortium led by Bermuda-based re/insurer Arch Capital Group has put forward a $500 million offer to buy Watford Holdings, according to reports from Reuters. After pre-warning of sizeable investment losses as a result of COVID-19-induced financial market volatility, Watford this year announced a first quarter loss of almost $267 million. As ... Read the full article
Watford profits recover on investment income
30th July 2020
Bermuda domiciled re/insurance company Watford Holdings has posted a net income of $188.8 million for the second quarter of 2020, compared with just $13.8 million for the same period last year. The improvement owes mostly to the company’s net investment income, which rose to $199.5 million, up from $23.8 million in ... Read the full article
KBRA revises Watford Holdings’ ratings outlook to Negative
19th June 2020
Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) has affirmed the A insurance financial strength ratings (IFRS) of the operating subsidiaries of Watford Holdings Ltd., and revised the outlook for all the ratings to Negative. This revision follows a recent letter in which investment firm Capital Returns Management called for Watford to consider ... Read the full article
Call for Watford to be sold as reinsurer falls “horribly short of expectations”
19th May 2020
In a recent letter, the principal of investment firm Capital Returns Management, Ronald Bobman, has called for Bermuda-based reinsurer Watford Holdings Ltd to consider selling itself, potentially to a runoff specialist. A letter that was sent on Friday highlighting unprofitable underwriting returns and poor investment results at the company, called for ... Read the full article
Getting your daily reinsurance news from Reinsurance News is a simple way to receive only the reinsurance industry news that matters, delivered directly to your email inbox.
