Maiden sells renewal rights to US treaty reinsurance business

Maiden Holdings has sold the renewal rights in respect of its US treaty reinsurance underwriting business to Transatlantic Reinsurance.

The transaction, which has now closed, does not include any of the Bermuda underwriting elements of Maiden's portfolio including its AmTrust Business or its International Insurance Services and Capital Solutions businesses in Europe, which will remain as part of its on-going business.

Maiden also reported that in connection with its previously announced strategic review, it is in advanced discussions regarding the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Maiden Reinsurance North America (MRNA) to a third party. The transaction would cover approximately $1.1 billion of loss and LAE reserves as of June 30, 2018. Maiden cautioned that such discussions may or may not lead to an agreement to sell MRNA and that it does not expect to disclose any further developments unless and until it determines that further disclosure is appropriate or required.

The completion of the sale of the renewal rights begins the process of simplifying Maiden's operations, and along with anticipated restructuring and related expense reductions, are expected to improve its business performance and profitability as well as ‘significantly’ reducing the amount of capital required for Maiden's operations.

“The announcement of this transaction represents an important step in Maiden's continuing strategic review process and we believe this transaction will increase our financial flexibility, improve our operating efficiency and profitability and broaden our ability to allocate capital to future strategies, which in turn will create value for our shareholders,” said Lawrence Metz, Maiden's president and chief executive officer designate.

“We are deeply grateful to the Maiden team for their continued efforts in this challenging environment and, prospectively, we will coordinate closely with clients to ensure a smooth transition.”