Sirius mulls majority stake in Israel insurer

Bermuda-based insurer Sirius has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase 4.9 percent of Israel-based The Phoenix Holdings from Delek Group for NIS 208 million ($59.04 million) in cash.

Within 45 days of signing the agreement, Sirius will submit an application to the Israeli Commissioner of Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings to receive a permit to control the insurance company.

The Bermuda insurer has an exclusivity period of 60 days to conduct due diligence, during which time Sirius has the option to purchase all of Delek Group’s remaining shares in The Phoenix (approximately 47.35 percent) for an additional sum of NIS 2.3 billion in cash, subject to certain adjustments for interest and earnings.

The Phoenix writes life, property and casualty insurance, and also owns a credit card clearing house and Excellence, an asset management business. The Phoenix had $3.5 billion (NIS 12.5 billion) in revenues in 2016 and $30 billion (NIS 106 billion) of assets as of June 30, 2017.

“The Phoenix has been a Sirius business partner for decades, and it is one of Israel's leading insurance and financial services companies,” said Allan Waters, CEO of Sirius International Insurance Group. “Through The Phoenix, Sirius plans to offer new products to the Israeli market, and views this as an opportunity to develop new technology solutions, while protecting the interests of the Israeli public insured by the company.”

Waters added that Sirius is confident that the Israeli Commissioner of Insurance will approve Sirius as a controller of The Phoenix, given Sirius’s long-standing insurance expertise and strong regulatory oversight in New York, the UK, Sweden, Bermuda, Singapore and more.