Omega Insurance Accepts Byrne’s Offer
The board of Bermuda-based Omega Insurance and Invesco Perpetual, its main investor, have ended the battle for control of the Lloyd’s of London insurer by throwing their weight behind Mark Byrne’s tender offer for 25 per cent of the company.
Canopius, the privately held rival Lloyd’s vehicle, responded by withdrawing its revised indicative cash takeover offer.
Mr. Byrne [pictured] was co-founder and former executive director of Bermuda-based Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings, S.A. and sat on the firm’s board of directors until his retirement last year.
Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer Omega has in effect been on the block for more than a year since a spate of management infighting sparked by Invesco, owner of 29 per cent of the shares, that saw its chairman and chief executive replaced.
Along with Mr Byrne’s tender offer through his Bermuda-based Haverford vehicle and the Canopius indicative cash offer, Omega also received a proposal for a nil-premium merger with another privately held Lloyd’s rival, Barbican.
Mr. Byrne said that he hoped now to complete his tender offer within the next six to eight weeks. “I don’t want to do the chicken dance until we’re over the try line, but it feels like we’ve won,” he said.
