August 2014/4

The sale of a 20 percent stake in Ironshore to Chinese conglomerate Fosun valued the excess and surplus lines insurer at $2.32bn, or a multiple of 1.25x its unaudited net assets at 30 June.

Diversifying legacy group Enstar has agreed to acquire South Carolina-headquartered Companion Property & Casualty Insurance Group in a $218mn cash deal.

Any sailor will tell you that a plotting course against the direction of the wind is always an interesting exercise in optimisation.

Proposed Bermudian start-up reinsurer Golub Capital Re has been put on hold indefinitely because of rapidly deteriorating conditions in the reinsurance market and a more challenging investment environment in the credit space.