Fairfax Financial Holdings completes acquisition of Brit PLC

Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited announced Wednesday that it has completed its cash tender offer to shareholders of Brit PLC.

Fairfax – a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management – notes in a statement that it has sold 29.9% of the shares for Brit – a global specialty insurer and reinsurer, with a major presence in Lloyd’s – to Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).

Fairfax currently owns 70.1% of Brit and has the ability to repurchase the shares owned by OMERS over time, the statement adds.

Fairfax reports that Brit’s growing United States and international reach “are highly complementary to Fairfax’s existing worldwide operations and the acquisition will allow Fairfax to further diversify its group risk portfolio.”

As for Brit, the company will be able to leverage Fairfax’s expertise in the U.S. and international insurance and reinsurance markets, thus enhancing Brit’s global product offering and providing it with expanded underwriting opportunities and support, Fairfax noted in February.

At that time, the company announced it had reached an agreement with Brit to acquire the outstanding shares of Brit. The aggregate purchase price payable by Fairfax for the offer was approximately US$1.88 billion.

“With the acquisition of Brit, Fairfax will have a significant top-five position at Lloyd’s of London,” Prem Watsa, chairman and CEO of Fairfax, said at the time.