Zurich Insurance Group has improved its buyout offer for rival Beazley, the UK-based speciality insurer, to $10.2bn (SFr8.06bn).<\/p>\n
Under the revised proposal, Beazley shareholders would be entitled to receive 1,280p in cash per Beazley share.<\/p>\n
This follows Zurich\u2019s earlier bid on 4 January 2026, under which the Swiss insurer offered to buy 100% of Beazley for 1,230p per share.<\/p>\n
However, that offer was turned down on 16 January by Beazley\u2019s board for \u201csignificantly\u201d undervaluing the business.<\/p>\n
The latest offer marks a 56% premium over Beazley\u2019s closing price of 820p on 16 January, as well as a 56% premium to its 30-day volume weighted average share price of 822p.<\/p>\n
It also represents a 32% premium over the insurer\u2019s highest-ever share price of 973p in June 2025.<\/p>\n
Payouts or dividends declared after this announcement would be deducted from the offer price.<\/p>\n
Zurich said that its new cash proposal offers \u201cimmediate and certain cash value\u201d and is pitched above what it believes Beazley could achieve independently within a reasonable time frame.<\/p>\n
Should the transaction proceed, the combined business would have around $15bn in gross written premiums and would be headquartered in the UK.<\/p>\n
Zurich highlighted that the deal would result in a global speciality insurer with significant data resources, underwriting capability, infrastructure and a prominent position at Lloyd\u2019s of London.<\/p>\n
Funding for the acquisition will come from existing cash reserves, new debt arrangements and an equity placing.<\/p>\n
The company expects the acquisition to be accretive to its financial performance targets for 2027.<\/p>\n
Zurich has already established a Global Specialty Unit as part of its focus on expanding its speciality insurance business, which wrote around $9bn in premiums in 2024.<\/p>\n