Max and Harbor Shareholders Vote To Merge
Max Capital Group Ltd. and Harbor Point Limited, a privately held company announced on April 29 that their respective shareholders have voted in favor of all proposals necessary to consummate the merger of equals of Max and Harbor Point, which was first announced on March 3rd.
Completion of the transaction is contingent upon regulatory approvals and certain customary conditions and is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2010.
Upon closing, the combined company will be renamed and rebranded as Alterra Capital Holdings Limited and will trade on the NASDAQ Global Select market under the symbol ALTE and on the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol ALTE.BH.
Pursuant to the terms of the amalgamation agreement, holders of Harbor Point common shares will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 3.7769 Max common shares for each Harbor Point common share. In addition, both Max and Harbor Point intend for the Alterra board of directors to declare a special cash dividend of $2.50 per share following closing to all shareholders of Alterra (approximately $300 million in total).
Following the close of the transaction, W. Marston (Marty) Becker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Max will become President and Chief Executive Officer of Alterra and serve as a member of Alterra’s board of directors, while John R. Berger, Director, Chief Executive Officer and President of Harbor Point will become Chief Executive Officer of Reinsurance for Alterra and Vice Chairman of Alterra’s board. Mr. Berger will also chair the board’s underwriting committee. Michael O’Reilly, Chairman of Harbor Point’s board of directors and former Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of The Chubb Corporation, will become Alterra’s non-executive Chairman.
Mr. Becker said:
We are delighted that both Max and Harbor Point shareholders have recognized the significant benefits of bringing together these two great companies. We believe that Alterra will come out of the gate as a dynamic, financially strong, global company with approximately $3 billion of capital, and established and profitable insurance and reinsurance underwriting platforms in major markets worldwide. With this firm foundation, we will be well positioned to grow our company opportunistically, and will have greater flexibility to manage capital with a view to providing shareholders with enhanced returns.
Mr. Berger said:
With shareholder approvals now received, we are close to making our shared vision for Alterra a reality. We expect that, upon closing, Alterra will be ready to integrate quickly and provide seamlessly the same first class service and balanced risk-taking that our clients and business partners have come to expect.
About Max Capital Group Ltd.
Operating from offices in Bermuda, Ireland, the U.S., Latin America, and at Lloyd’s, Max Capital Group Ltd. is a global enterprise dedicated to providing diversified specialty insurance and reinsurance products to corporations, public entities, property and casualty insurers, and life and health insurers.
About Harbor Point Limited
Harbor Point Limited is a Bermuda-based holding company with property and casualty reinsurance operations in Bermuda, the U.S. and the UK.
