James River Group Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda-based insurance holding company, filed for an initial public offering of common shares that would raise up to $288 million.
Hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co LP’s affiliates own 72.6 percent of the insurer’s Class A common shares, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc owns 26.3 percent.
James River had first gone public in August 2005, less than three weeks before Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf coast.
D. E. Shaw Group bought the company for $575 million in cash in June 2007.
James River owns a group of casualty insurance and reinsurance companies operating primarily in the United States.
Richmond, Virginia-based business insurer James River Insurance is its largest subsidiary as measured by gross written premiums.
James River Group’s revenue rose about 2.7 percent to $206.5 million in the six months ended June 30 from a year earlier. The company’s net income fell to $18.7 million from $28.1 million.
Keefe Bruyette & Woods, UBS Investment Bank, FBR Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets are the lead underwriters for the offering, James River said in a regulatory filing. (http://bit.ly/1xo1B1I)
The company said it plans to list its common stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol “JRVR.”
The filing did not reveal how many shares were expected to be sold in the offering or their expected price.
James River said its selling shareholders will receive all of the proceeds from this offering.
The amount of money a company says its IPO plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.



Telematics and Trust: How Usage-Based Insurance Is Transforming Auto Coverage
Premium Slowdown, Inflation Factors to Lead to Higher P/C Combined Ratio: AM Best
AI Got Beat by Traditional Models in Forecasting NYC’s Blizzard
Why Claims AI Build vs. Buy Decisions So Often Miss the Mark 



