麻豆原创

The owners of Inigo Ltd. are exploring options for the British specialist insurance group including a potential sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

The shareholders, which include buyout firm JC Flowers & Co. and Qatar Investment Authority, are working with Evercore Inc. on the strategic review, the people said. They are seeking a valuation of as much as 拢2 billion ($2.5 billion), one of the people said.

Selling the entire business or a minority stake are among alternatives under consideration, while an initial public offering could also be an option though it’s less preferred, the people said.

A deal could happen as soon as next year, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Deliberations are preliminary and there’s no certainty that a transaction will materialize, the people said.

London-based Inigo started writing policies in early 2021 after raising $800 million from a group of investors and buying a Lloyd’s managing agency, . Besides JC Flowers and QIA, the company also counts Caisse de d茅p么t et placement du Qu茅bec and Oak Hill Advisors as its backers.

Representatives for JC Flowers, Evercore, CDPQ, Oak Hill and Inigo declined to comment, while a representative for QIA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Inigo offers insurance and reinsurance services for commercial risks, such as natural catastrophes and cybersecurity. It in profit to $145 million last year with gross written premiums reaching $1.1 billion.

The deliberations on Inigo come as a long period of rising commercial insurance prices has benefited Lloyd’s of London underwriters.

But the so-called “hard market” cycle appeared to hit a tipping point last quarter when global commercial insurance rates dropped 1% for the first time in seven years, led by declines in the UK and the Pacific region, according to the Marsh Global Insurance Market Index.

Other Lloyd’s of London businesses are also weighing strategic options while sector tailwinds remain. A consortium led by private equity firm Centerbridge Partners has lined up advisers to explore a sale or listing of London-based Canopius Group, Bloomberg 麻豆原创 reported in July.

The broader UK insurance industry is seeing a steady stream of dealmaking. Bain Capital has been looking for a buyer for Britain’s home and motor insurance firm Esure Group Plc, Bloomberg 麻豆原创 has reported. More recently, Aviva Plc made a non-binding proposal to acquire Direct Line Insurance Group Plc but the target rejected the offer.

Photograph: Commuters cross Millennium Bridge in view of skyscrapers on the skyline of the City of London, UK, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. Photo credit: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg

Topics Carriers Excess Surplus Lloyd's London