CVC Capital Partners (CVC) funds have completed the acquisition of RiverStone Europe from Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (Fairfax) and OMERS, the pension plan for Ontario’s municipal employees.
The RiverStone Europe Group will now operate under the name RiverStone International.
RiverStone International is one of the largest global consolidators of non-life run-off insurance books, with a leading position in the UK and Lloyd’s markets and over 20 years of experience helping insurers release capital, streamline their operations and reduce volatility. Since 2010 the company has completed 22 acquisitions of legacy non-life books from blue-chip insurers and today manages around USD4 billion of insurance reserves.
RiverStone International has also announced the appointment of Preben Prebensen as independent non-executive Chair to the Group Board. Prebensen has over 40 years of experience in the financial services and insurance sectors, including 11 years as CEO of Close Brothers Group plc, the FTSE 250 merchant bank. He was also formerly the Chief Investment Officer and a member of the Group Executive Committee at Catlin Group, the international non-life insurer, and CEO at Wellington Underwriting, the specialist insurer. He brings strong leadership and significant experience to support RiverStone International’s ambitious growth plans as an independent company.
Nick Packer will also join as an independent non-executive director to the Group Board. Packer is one of the co-founders of Enstar, the leading non-life run-off specialist, and subsequently served as Chief Operating Officer. He brings years of industry experience that will help to cement RiverStone International’s leading position within the global run-off insurance market.
Luke Tanzer, Chief Executive Officer of RiverStone International, says: “We are delighted to partner with CVC in this next chapter of our development, and look forward to pursuing our growth and development plans with the benefit of their extensive industry experience, global reach and long-term capital. We have continued to see strong growth and activity in the run-off insurance markets this year and are excited about our future plans. We thank Fairfax and OMERS for their fantastic support over the past years in helping us become an industry leader. We are also delighted to welcome Preben and Nick to our Group. They bring a wealth of experience and will be central to achieving our growth ambitions as a focused independent company.”
“I am pleased to be joining a company with such a strong proposition and reputation in the insurance sector as RiverStone International,” says Prebensen. “I look forward to working with Luke, his team and the rest of the Board to help the business fully realise its potential.”
“We’re happy to have completed the acquisition of RiverStone International from Fairfax,” says Peter Rutland, a Managing Partner and Head of Financial Services at CVC. “The company’s leading position in its markets, embedded cash flows and predictable financial profile means it is ideally suited to our Strategic Opportunities platform. We’re delighted to be supporting Luke and his team and, now with Preben and Nick on board, look forward to supporting their plans to accelerate the company’s value creation plan.”
