Olympus Partners is pleased to announce that it has agreed to sell its interest in Talbot Holdings Ltd (“Talbot”) to Validus Holdings, Ltd. (“Validus”). As part of the agreement, Validus will acquire 100% of the share capital of Talbot. The sale is conditional on regulatory approvals from the UK’s Financial Services Authority, the Corporation of Lloyd’s and the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
Talbot is the Bermudian parent of the specialty insurance group operating within the Lloyd’s insurance market through Syndicate 1183 and through Underwriting Risk Services Ltd (“URSL”). It writes a balanced and diversified portfolio of largely short-tail business, with a marine bias. The group is led by Michael Carpenter, Chief Executive, and Rupert Atkin, Director of Underwriting. Syndicate 1183 plans to write gross premium income of approximately $670 million in 2007.
Validus, which is also based in Bermuda, is a global provider of property catastrophe and other, primarily short-tail, lines of reinsurance through its wholly-owned subsidiary Validus Reinsurance, Ltd., which is rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best. It was formed in December 2005 with over $1.0 billion of capital from institutional investors.
Talbot will be the Validus group’s principal operation in the direct insurance market and Talbot’s Syndicate 1183 will form its primary point of access to the London Market. It is intended that the business continues trading in the Lloyd’s market through Talbot Underwriting and through URSL, and no significant change is envisaged in the scope or scale of its activities, or to its underwriting and administrative teams.
Lexicon Partners acted as financial adviser to Talbot’s shareholders in relation to the sale.
Olympus is Talbot’s largest shareholder, having led a $65 million capital raise in 2003. Robert Morris, Managing Partner of Olympus Partners commented:
“We are very pleased with this outcome, which results in a 3.5x return on our original investment in Talbot. The Talbot management team has done an extraordinary job building this franchise, and we are particularly gratified that the team will be able to continue working together as part of the Validus organization.”
Commenting on the sale, Michael Carpenter, Talbot’s Chief Executive, said: “From the outset of our discussions with Validus, it has been clear that the two organisations have highly complementary business models and compatible underwriting philosophies, and we are delighted to be joining forces with them.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rob and his colleagues at Olympus for their contribution to our continued success since their investment in 2003. They have been excellent and supportive partners throughout, both around the Board table and in the discussions leading up to agreeing the sale with Validus.”
Information on Olympus
Founded in 1989, Olympus Partners is a Stamford, Connecticut based private equity firm focused on providing equity capital for middle market management buyouts as well as companies needing capital for expansion. Olympus is an active, long-term investor across a broad range of industries, including healthcare services, financial services, consumer products and business services.
Olympus manages over $1.6 billion on behalf of over 50 blue-chip investors including corporate pension plans, state retirement systems and university endowment funds. Olympus is currently investing capital from its fourth fund, Olympus Growth Fund IV, a $750 million fund raised in 2003.
Information on Talbot
Talbot Holdings Ltd was established in November 2001 through a management buyout led by Chief Executive, Michael Carpenter, and Director of Underwriting, Rupert Atkin. In November 2003, it raised additional capital from a group of international investors led by Olympus Partners, and including New York-based Reservoir Capital Group and Intermediate Capital Group plc of London.
Talbot’s Syndicate 1183 is managed by the group’s wholly-owned managing agency, Talbot Underwriting Ltd, and focuses on underwriting a number of specialty risks, with particularly strong franchises in marine and energy lines, war, terrorism and political risks, direct property, financial institutions, contingency and treaty underwriting. The group also owns URSL, a specialist worldwide multi-line underwriting agency.
This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States, nor may the securities be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration as provided in the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, and the rules and regulations thereunder. No securities are being registered for offer or sale in the United States and no public offering of the securities in the United States will be made.
The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities referred to herein in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, exemption of registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.