Fairfax Financial Sells Singapore Insurer to Mitsui Sumitomo for $1.6B

December 29, 2017

Fairfax Financial Holdings said it has successfully sold a Singapore insurer to Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. for US$1.6 billion.The deal between the Toronto, Canada-based P/C insurance, reinsurance and investment management holding company, and Mitsui Sumitomo involves the sale of First Capital Insurance, Singapore’s largest property/casualty insurer. Both parties first announced the planned transaction in late August.

Beyond the sale of First Capital, Fairfax Financial has generally pursued acquisitions over the last year. In July, Fairfax completed its acquisition of Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings for $4.9 billion, giving it an insurer that writes $3.1 billion and has a major presence with large brokers such as Marsh, Aon and Willis. Allied World Chairman and CEO Prem Watsa described the deal as its “most significant” yet.

In February, Fairfax agreed to pay $144 million for New Zealand insurer Tower Ltd., giving it an instant, significant presence in a growing, emerging market.

In October 2016, Fairfax Financial bought some of American International Group’s Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe operations in a transaction worth about $240 million.

Fairfax in May agreed to sell a 12.2 percent stake in its Indian joint venture insurer ICICI Lombard in a deal that valued the company at $3.15 billion.

Source: Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.

A version of this article first appeared in Insurance Journal’s sister publication, Carrier Management.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Carriers

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