Centerbridge-Led Consortium Completes $952M Acquisition of Canopius from Sompo

Article

The $952 million acquisition of Canopius from Sompo Holdings has been completed by a private equity consortium led by Centerbridge Partners, L.P., which includes private investment firm Gallatin Point Capital LLC.

Having received all necessary regulatory consents, Canopius is once again a standalone business, led by chairman Michael Watson and group chief underwriting officer Mike Duffy. Details of the deal were first announced in September 2017.

Canopius was originally formed via a management buyout in December 2003 and was purchased in 2014 by Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sompo Holdings, for £594 million ($823.4 million).

Since 2003, Canopius has developed into a top-10 insurer at Lloyd’s, and wrote premium income of more than $1.5 billion in 2017, the company said in a statement.

“With Centerbridge and Gallatin’s support, the business is poised for growth on a scalable platform when conditions are conducive, and will continue to focus on underwriting excellence and enhancing its value-added capabilities in support of brokers and clients,” Canopius said.

“I am delighted to herald the dawn of an exciting new chapter in Canopius’ journey,” said Watson. “This has re-energized our exceptionally talented team who, with the financial strength and insights of our new owners, will continue to pursue our ambition of building a world-class specialty re/insurance franchise.”

“We’re very happy to have completed the investment in Canopius. Working with Michael Watson, Mike Duffy and the Canopius management team over the past few months has reinforced our view that this is a business with strong leadership and a clear strategy for the future,” said Ben Langworthy and Matthew Kabaker, senior managing directors at Centerbridge, in a joint statement.

“We recognize that 2018 marks a milestone year for Canopius being that it is 15 years since its original foundation. We believe Canopius has a great opportunity to build on its outstanding track record and look forward to helping grow the business responsibly,” they continued.

In a separate announcement, Sompo Holdings said it completed the transfer of 100 percent of the shares of Canopius to Fortuna Holdings Ltd., which is registered and incorporated in the Island of Jersey and owned by the fund managed by an affiliate of Centerbridge Partners.

The impact of the transfer of the shares does not have a significant impact on Sompo’s consolidated results, the company said.

Source: Canopius and Sompo Holdings

Related:

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions

Was this article valuable?