ACE & Blackrock seek $1.3bn to launch ABR Re

ABR Re, the joint venture between ACE and fund manager Blackrock, will seek to raise up to $1.3 billion of capital.

This was revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, which noted that the vehicle is seeking to raise between $800 million and $1.3 billion.

The document estimates a target of $1 billion in proceeds, assuming that the issuer will pay placement agents a fee equal to 2 percent of gross proceeds.

Citigroup Global Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities, Morgan Stanley & Co and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney are helping to raise the funds.

Whispers of a deal first emerged more than six months ago but details of what was originally described as an internal reinsurance vehicle have been sketchy.

It appears now that, in addition to reinsuring a chunk of ACE’s ceded premium, the vehicle could also give investors access to third party risks. This development would be especially interesting if those risks came from the primary side of the business and included non-cat business – risks that have rarely been touched in this type of model so far.