Peak Re to acquire Lutece as it targets ILS growth

Peak Reinsurance Company (Peak Re) will acquire Lutece Holdings, the Bermuda based dedicated ILS asset manager, in a transaction that is expected to close within weeks.

Peak Re said it will acquire 100 percent of the capital of Lutece, and its subsidiary Lutece Investment Management, subject to regulatory procedures.

Lutece was founded in 2017 by Erik Manning and Angus Ayliffe. It operates a very specific and targeted retro strategy, but in the future will provide Peak Re with a platform for expansion into other areas of the ILS market.

Lutece Investment Management will be renamed Peak Capital and will become a fully owned subsidiary of Peak Re.

Peak RE CEO Franz Josef Hahn said: “The acquisition of Lutece carries Peak Re forward in its aspirations in ILS by bringing Lutece’s expertise in house. This will definitely be accretive to our capabilities in capital and third party capital management.”

Hahn added: “We see opportunities from growing Asian risk exposures – Lutece’s professionals with ILS and structuring expertise, combined with Peak Re’s strong underwriting and operating franchise, will create new avenues for us to innovate for both customers and investors, working towards our ambition of narrowing the protection gap in Asia.”

Peak Re launched Asia’s first reinsurance sidecar transaction, Lion Rock Re, in 2018, which was upsized at the end of 2019.

Lutece CEO Erik Manning said: “Peak Re’s analytical-underwriting model is very much in keeping with the culture of Lutece, and with that foundation we are looking forward to helping to expand Peak Re’s ILS footprint.”