Hannover Re has agreed to acquire the UK holding company Argenta Holdings plc, a purchase that gives it a Lloyd’s syndicate plus additional access to international and London Market business.
Neither side disclosed financial terms.
Argenta Holdings owns Argenta Syndicate Management and Argenta Private Capital as well as a pro rata share of the Lloyd’s syndicate Argenta Syndicate 2121.
Hannover Re noted that the syndicate focuses on short-tail property business and specialty lines, and it has a diversified book of business. Argenta has generated good results, and plans call for keeping Argenta CEO Andrew Annandale and the company’s strategy in place.
Syndicate 2121 booked gross premium of $349.6 million in the 2016 fiscal year. Hannover Re said it will back Argenta as it moves on its growth trajectory.
Ulrich Wallin, Hannover Re’s chief executive officer, said in prepared remarks that the reinsurer has been interested in a Lloyd’s syndicate for some time, “with a view to gaining additional access to international and London Market business.”
Argenta Chairman Alasdair Lock, meanwhile, noted that both companies have worked together for some time prior to the acquisition deal.
“Hannover Re has been a valued business partner of Syndicate 2121 for many years, both as a reinsurer and capital provider, and we believe that this transaction is in the best interests of Argenta, its customers and its staff,” Lock said in prepared remarks.
Source: Hannover Re