Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb is considering taking SiriusPoint Ltd private less than three years after he agreed to combine his hedge fund’s reinsurance business, Third Point Re, with rival Sirius International Insurance Group to form the global specialty insurer.

The cash and stock deal was announced in 2020 when insurers braced for a wave of claims related to the coronavirus pandemic and Loeb said the merger would provide more heft for internal growth and acquisitions. The deal was finalized in early 2021.

On Wednesday Loeb, who runs hedge fund Third Point, said the company could be more successful as a private entity.

SiriusPoint “may be best positioned to execute on its turnaround strategy as a privately held company while continuing to strengthen its financial position, enhance its credit ratings and adhere to the highest regulatory standards,” he said in a regulatory filing.

“As a result, (Loeb) has determined to explore a potential acquisition of all or substantially all of the outstanding Common Shares of the Issuer,” the filing said.

The filing offered no details on a price or timeline for a deal.

Loeb owns a 9.34 percent stake in SiriusPoint, which is valued at $1.4 billion, and is the second largest investor after China Minsheng Investment Group, which owned a 33.75 percent stake on March 1, 2022, according to a regulatory filing.

News of the potential deal sent the share price up more than 11 percent to $9.28 in midday trading.

The potential deal comes while the insurance sector is seeing increased interest from fund managers and private equity firms as they shift toward defensive business models that do better during times of economic uncertainty.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston, Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Chris Reese)