Peak Reinsurance Company Ltd (Peak Re) has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 100% of the capital of Lutece Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiary Lutece Investment Management Ltd.
According to a statement by Peak Re, the Bermuda-based dedicated ILS asset manager will be renamed Peak Capital and will become a fully owned subsidiary of Peak Re. The transaction is pending regulatory approval and is expected to close in the coming weeks.
“The acquisition of Lutece carries Peak Re forward in its aspirations in ILS by bringing Lutece’s expertise in-house. This will definitely be accretive to our capabilities in capital and third party capital management,” said Peak Re CEO Franz Josef Hahn.
“We see opportunities from growing Asian risk exposures – Lutece’s professionals with ILS and structuring expertise, combined with Peak Re’s strong underwriting and operating franchise, will create new avenues for us to innovate for both customers and investors, working towards our ambition of narrowing the protection gap in Asia.”
According to Peak Re, the acquisition will enhance its capabilities and expand its ILS product suite. This follows Peak Re’s launching of Asia’s first reinsurance sidecar transaction, Lion Rock Re, in 2018. In late 2019, the sidecar was renewed and expanded.
Lutece was founded in 2017 by industry veterans Erik Manning and Angus Ayliffe, who both have decades of experience in reinsurance and ILS. Currently, Lutece operates in the ILS market with a very specific and targeted retro strategy, the statement said. Moving forward, it will provide Peak Re with a platform for expansion into other areas of the ILS market.
“We are delighted to become a part of Peak Re and look forward to bringing our assets and areas of expertise to help strengthen Peak Re’s platform,” said Manning, who is currently Lutece’s CEO. “Peak Re’s analytical-underwriting model is very much in keeping with the culture of Lutece, and with that foundation we are looking forward to helping to expand Peak Re’s ILS footprint.”
