OneBeacon Explores Sale; China’s Fosun Interested: Sources

By and | April 8, 2015

OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd., a specialty insurer controlled by White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd., is exploring a sale, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

OneBeacon has drawn interest from companies including China’s Fosun International Ltd., said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is not public. White Mountains, which owns about 75 percent of OneBeacon, is informally approaching the bidders and won’t sell the business if it can’t fetch a high enough price, the people said.

OneBeacon rose 11.3 percent to $16.69 as of 10:04 a.m in New York trading Wednesday, giving the Bermuda-based company a market value of $1.6 billion. The insurer’s offerings range from coverage against shipping losses to policies that repay funds spent on college tuition if students don’t finish school.

White Mountains is testing the market for OneBeacon as insurance companies bulk up in the face of new competition from hedge funds. Earlier this year PartnerRe Ltd. and Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. agreed to merge, and XL Group plc said it would buy Catlin Group Ltd. for about $4 billion.

Fosun is an investment company with holdings in a variety of industries including insurance and real estate. China’s insurers, including Fosun and Anbang Insurance Group Co., have been on a global buying spree acquiring rivals in the Europe and property in the U.S.

Representatives for White Mountains and Fosun declined to comment.

White Mountains is an investment firm that specializes in buying insurance providers. It also holds stakes in life insurer Symetra Financial Corp., and Sirius Group, a reinsurer, according to its website.

The company in 2011 sold auto insurer Esurance and Answer Financial to Allstate Corp. for about $1 billion. Answer allows clients to compare quotes and buy coverage through its website.

Topics China

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Latest Comments

  • April 9, 2015 at 9:34 am
    bill lorie says:
    How can their poor treatment of their on nationals in the work force not translate to their companies in the US? This is bad news except for the greedy sellers.
  • April 8, 2015 at 5:37 pm
    jenny says:
    Not just any foreign country, but the one that is the biggest threat to American security. When you buy from China, you buy from the Red Army.
  • April 8, 2015 at 2:43 pm
    Oh, Great... says:
    More inroads from foreign countries

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