Reinsurer with Toronto office could become publicly traded

Sirius International Insurance Group Ltd., which sells reinsurance in Canada through a Toronto office, will be publicly traded if a tentative merger agreement announced Monday is approved.

Bermuda-based Sirius was sold in 2016 by White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd. to Singapore-based CM International Holding Pte. Ltd., which is the investment arm of China Minsheng Investment Corp. Ltd.

Sirius America has an underwriting office in Toronto through which it sells property and casualty reinsurance in Canada and in the Caribbean.

Sirius “has a solid business profile as an established midsize global reinsurer,” A.M. Best Company Inc. said in a release last year. The firm “benefits from good diversification by line of business and geographically, with strong global market access through branch offices, subsidiaries, long-standing client relationships and a Lloyd’s syndicate.”

Worldwide, Sirius Group had gross written premiums of $1.4 billion in 2017.

Sirius announced a merger agreement with Easterly Acquisition Corp on June 25. That agreement is subject to approval by shareholders and is expected to close this year. If the merger closes, Sirius would become publicly traded on the NASDAQ.

The sale by White Mountains of Sirius in 2016 was valued at US$2.6 billion.

Until 2017, White Mountains also owned the majority of Plymouth, Minn.-based commercial insurer OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd. OneBeacon is now owned by Toronto-based Intact Financial Corp. OneBeacon’s coverages include marine, professional liability and cyber.

In 2011, White Mountains sold direct writer Esurance Holdings Inc. to The Allstate Corp.