Daniel Loeb is selling SiriusPoint shares
Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb (pictured) is selling $57.5 million worth of shares in Bermuda-based SiriusPoint through a secondary offering, reducing his stake to below 10%.
Loeb, founder of hedge fund Third Point, previously established Third Point Re and was involved in a contentious dispute with the company in 2021. The conflict ended with a standstill agreement in which he pledged to maintain a stake of no more than 9.5% and refrain from any takeover attempts.
Last month, SiriusPoint agreed to repurchase 45 million shares from its largest shareholder, CM Bermuda, with the remaining balance set to be paid on Friday.
That buyback would have increased Loeb’s ownership share of the company. SiriusPoint said the transaction was not connected to the standstill agreement but declined to comment further.
Under the terms of the secondary offering, the 4.1 million shares will be sold for $14. SiriusPoint is buying back 500,000 of the shares at the offering price and will cancel the shares it repurchases. The offering closes on Thursday.
“Immediately following the completion of the offering and our previously announced repurchase of all of the common shares and warrants currently held by CM Bermuda, it is expected that the Loeb Entities will own approximately 9.54% of SiriusPoint’s issued and outstanding common shares,” SiriusPoint said.
Heavy losses
SiriusPoint was created in 2021 from a merger between Sirius International, largely owned by CM Bermuda, and Third Point Re. At the time, the shares were trading at $10.59 although they would later drop to as low as $4.38.
After a period of heavy losses at the company, Loeb surprised SiriusPoint management in April 2023 with an announcement he was looking to take the company private. A month later, the deal was scrapped when the parties were unable to agree on a deal value.
It is understood that Loeb does not wish to own more than 10% of the company as this could lead to tax and regulatory issues and the CM Bermuda buyback would have pushed his aggregate shareholding above 10%.
SiriusPoint said that under the terms of the transaction, the remaining shares owned by the Loeb Entities will be subject to a 90-day lock-up agreement with Jefferies, the sole bookrunning manager for the offering.
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