Calera Capital, a middle-market private equity firm, has agreed to invest an additional USD50m in Ironshore as part of a USD300m equity financing to support the continued expansion of I
Calera Capital, a middle-market private equity firm, has agreed to invest an additional USD50m in Ironshore as part of a USD300m equity financing to support the continued expansion of Ironshore’s specialty insurance business.
Calera Capital served as a lead investor in Ironshore’s initial USD1bn capitalization in December 2006 in partnership with Irving Place Capital, Corporate Partners, TowerBrook Capital Partners and Greenhill Capital Partners. This additional subscription brings the total invested in Ironshore by Calera and its co-investors to approximately USD250m.
Calera will be joined in this equity raise by new investors, GTCR Golder Rauner and Wellington Management, as well as a number of existing shareholders. The transaction is subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
During its first two years of operations, Ironshore has achieved its goal of creating a strong global specialty insurance platform. The company has established a market presence in Bermuda, the US and London and built a diversified book of business across over 15 property and casualty lines.
At the end of last year, the company hired Kevin Kelley (pictured), the former chief executive of AIG’s successful Lexington Insurance subsidiary.
‘We have built a diversified platform with experienced and well-established underwriting teams across a variety of specialty property and casualty classes,’ says Kelley. ‘We have tremendous momentum in the market and this additional capital will allow us to continue to expand our position with our clients. We see significant dislocations in selected segments of the market which will enable us to quickly and profitably deploy the capital.’
Mark Williamson, a managing partner at Calera, says: ‘We are enthusiastic about committing additional capital behind a strong management team and business platform that we know well and in which we have great confidence. With the new capital in place, Ironshore is uniquely positioned to accelerate its growth plan and capture sustainable, profitable business.’
