Insurance firm Markel purchased all of the outstanding shares of Nephila, an insurance-linked securities manager, for an undisclosed sum.
Established in 1998, Nephila offers insurance-linked securities, catastrophe bonds, insurance swaps, as well as weather derivatives.
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In addition, the business managed around $12.3bn in assets at the end of July 2018 and employs 180 staff.
Changes post-deal
Nephila will retain its operational independence post acquisition. Moreover, it will remain under the leadership of its existing co-CEOs Greg Hagood and Frank Majors. They will continue to operate from Bermuda, San Francisco, Nashville, and London.
Majors said: “We are delighted to be joining Markel, a company with a similar culture, strategic outlook and long-term focus. They have built a great company with a sterling reputation for both outstanding performance and a collaborative business approach, and have a proven track record of successful acquisitions.
“Markel shares our strategic vision for the future of the insurance markets; this transaction will allow us to accelerate our delivery of that strategy, creating additional value for our investors and our trading partners,”
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By GlobalDataMarkel will fund the deal using its existing liquidity. Furthermore, the transaction is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval.
Markel co-CEO Richie Whitt said: “The combined assets under management (AUM) between Nephila and Markel CATCo will stand at approximately $19 billion, representing approximately 20% of the insurance-linked securities sector. With this transaction, Markel is set to become the largest manager of funds in this sector.”
