A major Canadian financial holding company has agreed to buy Brit Insurance for £1.22 billion.
Canada's Fairfax Financial Holding bought the British insurer for the equivalent of $2.32 billion Canadian amid intense consolidation activity in the sector.
Under the terms of the offer, Brit shareholders will receive 305 pence in cash ($5.84 Cdn) for every share they own.
The Brit directors have said they intend unanimously to recommend that Brit shareholders accept the offer.
Mark Cloutier, the chief executive of Brit, said: “Our business is complementary to their group’s current offering and the deal represents an exciting opportunity to continue our story on an even stronger footing,” Mark Cloutier, the chief executive of Brit, told the UK Telegraph. “Our position as a market-leading global specialty insurer and re insurer and our major presence in Lloyd's make us an attractive addition to Fairfax’s global footprint.
"There is very little crossover in our respective international operations."
The deal for the Lloyd’s of London insurer means a full exit for private equity firms Apollo and CVC, according to the Telegraph, who floated 25 per cent of the business last March.
Brit focuses exclusively on specialist corporate insurance and reinsurance at the Lloyd’s market, including cover for the marine sector, property, casualty, event cancellation and kidnapping.
Brit, which was well known for its sponsorship of England’s cricket team, hired former Lloyd’s chief executive Richard Ward as nonexecutive chairman a month before announcing its plans to go public.
