QIC in deal to acquire Antares Holdings of the Lloyd’s market

QIC corporate office in West Bay. The acquisition of Antares, which operates in the Lloyd’s market, will provide QIC with access to Lloyd’s through Syndicate 1274 and Antares’ own integrated managing agency, as well as bringing a Bermudian platform with a Class 3 reinsurance licence. Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) has reached an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of leading specialist insurer and reinsurer Antares Holdings together with its subsidiaries.The acquisition of Antares, which operates in the Lloyd’s market, will provide QIC with access to Lloyd’s through Syndicate 1274 and Antares’ own integrated managing agency, as well as bringing a Bermudian platform with a Class 3 reinsurance license. The transaction, which is subject to UK, Bermudian and Qatari regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second half of 2014. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.QIC Group president and CEO Khalifa al-Subaey said, “The acquisition of Antares is another important milestone in QIC’s internationalisation strategy. Antares will help QIC to build a significant global property and casualty and specialty insurance footprint.”Sunil Talwar, QIC Deputy CEO and Group CFO said, “Antares has developed into a highly successful franchise under the stewardship of Lightyear Capital and Stephen Redmond.“Antares’ robust and diversified underwriting platform perfectly complements our group’s existing global operations. We look forward to welcoming Stephen and his team into the QIC Group and building on the profitable growth that has been achieved thus far.”Antares managing director Stephen Redmond said, “We are very proud of the significant progress that we have made since the formation of Antares in 2007 and of the achievements that the company has made under the guidance of our current shareholders. We are excited about becoming part of QIC and believe that Antares and QIC have complementary models built around an aligned underwriting philosophy. As part of QIC, Antares will be a stronger business that will be well placed for the future.”Founded in 1964, QIC was the first domestic insurance company in Qatar. Today, it is the market leader in Qatar and a dominant insurer in the Gulf Co-operation Council as well as Middle East and North Africa (Mena) regions. QIC is one of the highest rated insurers in the Gulf region with a rating of “A/Stable” from Standard & Poor’s and “A/Excellent” by AM Best. In terms of profitability and market capitalisation, QIC is also the largest insurance company in the Mena region.