Bloomberg had reported that Fortress Investment Group LLC, which manages private equity and hedge funds, agreed to buy the Bermuda-based reinsurer Alea Group Holdings Ltd. for 162 million ($320 million).
New York-based Fortress will pay 93 pence a share in cash, it said in a statement. That’s 1.1 percent less than Alea’s closing price yesterday and a 15 percent premium over its average price for the last six months, Fortress said.
The sale to Fortress will “bring greater stability to the company,” Alea Chairman John Reeve said in the statement. The agreed price “represents an attractive proposal for all shareholders and offers them the opportunity to crystallize their investments in the company.”
Hamilton, Bermuda-based Alea, which is closed to new business, put itself up for sale following record storm losses in 2005. Mark Cloutier, former chief executive officer of Overseas Partners Re, became Alea’s CEO last September, replacing Mark Ricciardelli, who stepped down after about two years on the job.