Japanese casualty insurer Sompo Holdings has agreed to acquire Bermuda based property and casualty insurer Endurance Specialty for about JPY637.5bn ($6.3bn).

As per the definitive agreement, Sompo would be buying out 100% of the Endurance Specialty shares with each priced at $93.00.

The payment will be done through Sompo’s cash on hand and the acquisition is expected to close in March 2017.

Endurance Specialty’s board of directors has unanimously approved the acquisition. The deal is further subject to its shareholder’s approval along with other regulatory approvals.

Endurance Specialty, which has a market value of $6bn, offers personal and commercial property, casualty insurance and reinsurance underwriting in both the US and the UK along with its home country Bermuda.

The Bermudian company reported net income of $311m and gross premiums written of $3.3bn.

Sompo offers property and casualty insurance, life insurance, nursing care and healthcare insurance, and overseas insurance. It has a market value of $12bn.

Post-acquisition, Endurance CEO John Charman along with other management team will continue to work with the company.

The deal is the second costliest deal for a Japanese insurance company in acquiring a US insurance company in recent times.

It has been a trend of sorts with Japanese insurance companies buying their US counterparts to mark their footprint in the region.

Last year, Tokio Marine Holdings acquired US insurer HCC Insurance Holdings for $7.5bn.

In March, Tokyo based Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance completed its acquisition of Delaware based StanCorp Financial Group for $5bn.

Prior to that in February, Sumitomo Life Insurance completed its acquisition of Symetra Financial for approximately $3.8bn.


Image : Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings will acquire Endurance Specialty for approximately $6.2bn. Photo : courtesy of Rs1421.