Omega Confirms New Offer From Canopius
Bermuda’s Omega Insurance Holdings Ltd. today [Apr. 3] confirmed it has received a takeover approach from privately-owned Canopius Group Ltd. for 65 pence per share in cash, which is lower than its initial offer of 83 pence per share made last September.
Omega Insurance also confirmed that its issued share capital as at the close of business on April 02, 2012 consisted of 244,229,862 common shares of $0.10 each.
The company said it will consult with its shareholders and a further announcement will be made when appropriate.
There can be no certainty that a formal offer from Canopius will be forthcoming on these or other terms, Omega added.
Bermuda-based Omega Insurance posted last month a pre-tax loss for the full year 2011 of $94.71 million, wider than $42.94 million in the previous year.
In January Omega rejected a “merger of equals” proposal made by its Lloyd’s of London peer Barbican.
That overture came after a tortuous and ultimately fruitless offer period for Omega which began a year earlier with an initial approach from Canopius Group Ltd.
After a flurry of proposals in the fall, including one from Barbican and Carlson Capital, Bermuda’s Haverford Ltd. — owned by locally based reinsurance entrepreneur Mark Byrne –gained Omega’s de facto backing for a partial tender.
Haverford later launched a tender for a 25 percent stake in Omega worth up to 83 pence per share but controversially allowed it to lapse in November after its target’s performance deteriorated.
Mr. Byrne’s company tried unsuccessfully to open talks about a lower offer and eventually walked away on December 23.
