September 2012/2

If Validus succeeds in closing out its deal to acquire Flagstone then it will become the fifth member of Bermuda's $4bn equity club.

Validus will not face a competing bid from earlier Flagstone suitor ANV despite the modest 0.73x book price tag, The Insurance Insider understands.

Goldman Sachs' wholly owned P&C (re)insurance platform is restructuring six months on from the deal that saw the investment bank buy the Bermudian operations of Ariel Holdings for less than book value.

Record industry capital powered by strong first half earnings has fuelled talk of downward pressure on reinsurance pricing only a year after the sector took record ceded losses

Barbican has approached members' agents to solicit Names backing for special purpose syndicate (SPS) 6591, which will take on business written by new hire James Winn

Tom Bolt's Performance Management Directorate is paying particular attention to Lloyd's casualty reserving practices for financial crisis-related claims given the soft market conditions that have reigned in recent years, according to AM Best.

Canopius will run an accelerated integration process with newly acquired Omega, aiming to condense 12 months of work into five months, Canopius chairman Michael Watson told The Insurance Insider in his first interview since the deal closed.

August rates rise; Swiss promotion; Canopius bounce back; Marketform appoints; Permanent capital; Carnegie-Brown returns; Hartford exit; Life's a Beach; Lewin memorial; Frankfurt fac; Turkish delight; Hannover upgraded; $84bn capital high; NZII creep; Lloyd's global; Lloyd's global; Join the club; Thai ready; Swiss Re completes; In a huff

Three heavyweight insurers are putting the final touches to autumn IPO plans that will test investors' appetite at a time when the global equity markets are moribund, insurance valuations are modest and shareholders are nervous after the Facebook Inc float disaster

A pair of investment funds is targeting new sources of private capital as members' agents respond to calls to "invigorate" and streamline the use of Names capital at Lloyd's.

Private equity-backed Antares has held talks with a number of parties as the group looks for a way to address issues concerning its scale, The Insurance Insider understands

Underwriters from Arch, Ark, Endurance and New Re to join Lloyd's insurer following Q-Re exodus