QBE Chile Seguros Generales S.A. has completed a management buyout by purchasing the company in May 2017 from QBE Latin America Insurance Holdings.
Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Following the completion of the deal, QBE Chile rebranded to Unnio Seguros Generales (Unnio) and will continue to focus on commercial insurance, mainly property, casualty, engineering and other specialty lines.
Closing the year ending Dec. 31, 2016 with a direct gross written premiums (GWP) of US$30.7 million, QBE Chile “was well placed to become wholly independent and enter its next phase of growth,” said Santiago-based Unnio in a statement.
The management buyout was led by Diego Panizza, CEO, with capital provided by an affiliate of reinsurance broker Capsicum Re.*
The team was advised by Gustavo Zang (independent lead financial adviser), Capsicum Re Latin America and its parent company Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers LLP in London. Capsicum Re’s mandate was to advise on the reinsurance structure, pricing and distribution element of the transaction and also facilitate the capital raise required.
“I’d like to thank our advisers and partners, who were integral to the success of the transaction, particularly the Capsicum Re Latin America team, as the deal could not have completed without their unique ability to organize traditional reinsurance structures and non-traditional capital structures,” commented Panizza.
“There is a lot of support for Unnio and we are seeing rising demand for insurance products in the region,” he said.
Rupert Swallow, CEO of Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers LLP, said: “This is a groundbreaking deal for us and we are pleased to have played such a central role in supporting Diego and his team. Our ability to combine traditional reinsurance structuring with the connectivity to raise substantial capital underpinned the management team’s objectives. This is a landmark transaction for our rapidly growing Latin American operation led by Joe Smith and we look forward to supporting Unnio as the business develops.”
* Founded by Grahame Chilton and Rupert Swallow in 2013, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers works in partnership with Arthur J. Gallagher as its primary treaty reinsurance broking outlet. It has offices in London, Bermuda, Rio de Janeiro, Miami and Santiago.
Topics Reinsurance
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