DARAG looks at Bermuda and North America with new acquisition

DARAG Guernsey has acquired the entire share capital of SOBC Services via its wholly owned subsidiary, SOBC DARAG Holdings.

SOBC Services is focused on the sourcing, acquisition and management of insurance entities and portfolios in run off in Bermuda, the US and Caribbean.

Stephanie Mocatta will be chief executive officer of the business, which will trade under the name SOBC DARAG, with Brian Johnston as chief financial officer and executive vice president and Tom Hodson as general counsel. They are complemented by nine other staff, primarily based in Ohio, with extensive US claims, financial, regulatory and operational experience.

In addition, SOBC DARAG Holdings, has agreed to acquire from SOBC Corp and SOBC Sandell Holdings, subject to regulatory approval, four insurance entities in run-off and SOBC Insurance Company, a Protected Cell Company in Connecticut. The entities in run-off comprise: American Safety Captive Insurance Company in Vermont, American Staffing Assurance Company, PIA Professional Liability Insurance Company the economic interest in the Insuratex cell in Bermuda which contains auto liability, general liability and workers’ compensation risks.

Following the recent acquisition of Peachtree in Florida and the change of control approvals for the entities above, SOBC DARAG will own 6 carriers across the US and Bermuda.  The team is hopeful that this can all be completed before the end of 2018.

SOBC DARAG is expected to see fast expansion in the small to mid-sized run-off space, whilst also challenging the traditional players at the larger end of the market. The existing SOBC staff, including all the executive team, have transferred to the new operation with immediate effect.

SOBC DARAG is focused on acquisitions, LPTs and other business transfers within the run-off markets in the USA, Bermuda and Caribbean.

“This transaction marks a great new chapter,” said Stephanie Mocatta, chief executive officer (CEO) of SOBC DARAG. “With the capital and expertise of the DARAG Group now fully behind us, we believe there is significant opportunity to develop and grow SOBC DARAG.  We have already completed the Peachtree Casualty Insurance Company acquisition and are actively working on a number of other new opportunities. We look forward to the considerable expansion of SOBC DARAG here in the USA as well as in Bermuda and the Caribbean. We would also like to thank our previous capital partners, Sandell, for their support. We have enjoyed working with them for the past 24 months.”

Tom Booth, group CEO of DARAG, said: “Following the equity commitment of €260m ($300m) in July, DARAG announced its intention to expand into the USA and Bermuda markets. The acquisition of SOBC Services via DARAG Guernsey’s wholly owned subsidiary SOBC DARAG Holdings in Delaware, brings onboard an exceptional team of seasoned local professionals. Together with the insurance entities being purchased from the SOBC Group this provides us with a great platform for our future expansion plans in the US legacy market. We have worked closely with the SOBC team on these acquisitions and we are looking forward to continuing our work together and to considerable growth in the coming months and years.”