Lloyd’s insurer fails to receive high enough bids
Lloyd’s insurer Omega has ended talks with potential buyers, claiming it has not received a high enough offer.
The AIM-listed company had received expressions of interest from up to seven insurers but said in a statement to the Stock Exchange that their bids had not recognised the company’s long term value.
Omega chairman Walter Fiederowicz said: “We went into bid talks with an open mind, fully accepting that if a party would pay the right price for our franchise today then we would act accordingly in the best interests of shareholders. Our people and our business have come through quite extensive due diligence in the best light, but we do not believe that bidders' valuations adequately reflect the value of Omega today and the value of what we are building in Bermuda and in the US. The Board has therefore decided to terminate these discussions at this point in time.”
The statement added that trading has been strong this year and the business is trading in line with expectations.
Omega Insurance writes mainly short-tail property insurance and reinsurance business, with a focus on insuring small to medium-sized companies and reinsuring smaller insurance companies.
Omega Underwriting manages Syndicate 958, which in 2006 wrote £250m in gross premiums, making pre-tax profits of £37m with a combined ratio of 85%.
