Zurich’s £8bn Beazley takeover set for October completion

Zurich’s £8bn takeover of Beazley is expected to complete on October 1, with shareholders due to receive their proceeds within a fortnight.

Ahead of that, there will be a court hearing on September 22 to sanction the scheme following a data transfer agreement between the two companies signed last Friday (September 11).

The £8.2 billion all-cash offer was almost unanimously approved by Beazley shareholders back in April.

Zurich is funding the transaction with a mix of cash, debt and a $5 billion equity issue.

Zurich previously said it likes the opportunity in specialty insurance, especially around the data centre boom, and had been hoping for just such a Lloyd’s presence, which it will gain with Beazley.

Zurich has said the transaction would combine two highly complementary businesses, establishing a leading, global specialty platform with around $15 billion of gross written premiums.

Zurich has also said it estimates incremental revenue growth opportunities of more than $1 billion per annum through the Beazley acquisition. Zurich expects approximately $150 million of cost savings by 2029, with “meaningful capital synergies” of around $1 billion of “one-off capital extraction” within the first two years following the deal closing.

Beazley CEO Adrian Cox (pictured) previously said a tie-up between the two could create “a very powerful engine” and Zurich had talked about retaining the Beazley brand and moving $9 billion of business across to the specialist insurer. Combining with Zurich would expand Beazley’s reach beyond the 20 countries in which it now operates, adding new areas of insurance, such as construction, Cox said.

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