June 2007/4

New York based hedge fund Fortress Investment Group said last week its offer to buy defunct run-off insurer Alea Group Holdings Ltd had gone unconditional after receiving irrevocable undertakings from 61 percent of shareholders.

Lloyd’s has appointed Jose Ribeiro as its new director of International Markets and Business Development following the departure of Julian James earlier this year.

Giant US insurer American International Group (AIG) filed a $1bn lawsuit against its former CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg and ex-CFO Howard Smith last week.

Lloyd’s set the terms for the public issue of £500mn of tier 1 subordinated debt last week. Following a three-day investment road show, the Corporation saw its debt issue several times oversubscribed by institutional investors.

UK run-off management company Tawa announced a round of redundancies within its 90 staff in London last week, fuelling sentiment that the discontinued business sector is heading towards greater consolidation and streamlining of its resources.

Broker Gallagher Re has announced the appointment of Mark Flower as chief actuary for its UK operations.

Aspen Re has become the first reinsurer to follow in the footsteps of the G6 with the launch of a live peer-to-peer electronic trading platform.

French reinsurer SCOR has resolved the US legal issues on its takeover of Converium Holdings and the deal’s formal offer period opened last week.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has upgraded the insurer financial strength rating of AXA’s core subsidiaries to AA from AA- citing the company’s successful integration of Winterthur.

Swiss (re)insurer, Zurich Financial Services Group announced today that with immediate effect, Mike Kerner will become global chief underwriting officer for general insurance.

Giant Bermuda-based investment hedge fund DE Shaw Group agreed a $575mn deal for US property/casualty insurer James River Group last week.

Specialist actuarial consultants EMB has lured Duncan Anderson away from rival firm Watson Wyatt.