Fosun Group, a major Chinese conglomerate, wants to list US-based P&C insurer
Ironshore “as soon as possible”, likely within the year. This was revealed by Guo Guangchang, the company's billionaire co-founder and chairman.
Fosun
announced that it would spin off Ironshore, which it acquired for US$2.3bn, through a separate listing on the New York Stock Exchange. However, ratings agency AM Best assigned Ironshore with a
negative outlook.
Guo, who patterns himself after US investor Warren Buffett and is 19th on Forbes' China Rich List this year, has a net worth of $5.3 billion. He said that the size of the offering would be determined by the market but he said that “the bigger the better.” He also added that Fosun will be focusing on its tourism businesses for this year.
Fosun has embarked on a debt-funded global acquisition push all over the globe. In the past two decades, the company has spent over US$30bn acquiring insurers, property, and tourism-related assets abroad, mostly in Europe and the US. It began by partnering with state-owned companies in China, investing in industrial assets before moving on to insurance and consumer businesses.
In the wake of the UK’s leaving the European Union, Fosun said that it has a growing interest in investing in the UK.
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