Specialist insurer Beazley has confirmed that its Board of Directors has unanimously rejected Zurich’s cash proposal of 1,280 pence per share, stating that the proposal “materially undervalues Beazley and its longer-term prospects as an independent company.”
The decision from Beazley comes after a detailed evaluation of the January 19th proposal by the Board together with its advisers.
Beazley states that the Board is fully focused on maximising shareholder value, and that it has listened to feedback from its shareholders and is “open-minded” about all options to deliver value.
Interestingly, Beazley reveals that its Board received three proposals from Zurich in June 2025, with the terms of the latest proposal actually below the last proposal put forward by Zurich in late June last year, which was rejected by Beazley. This proposal valued the insurer at 1,315 pence per share at an implied equity value of £8.4 billion, equivalent to approximately 2.4x tangible book value as at December 31st, 2024.
“The Board is very confident in Beazley’s standalone prospects as a publicly listed company and in the attractiveness of Beazley’s business model fundamentals and believes that Beazley is uniquely positioned within the global insurance market to maximise long-term shareholder value and realise the full potential of its specialty platform,” says the statement from Beazley.
In its statement regarding Zurich’s proposal, Beazley’s Board highlights five core attributes which help the carrier deliver strategic differentiation and value: Track record of delivering shareholder value; Underwriting excellence; Leader in Cyber; Superior return generation; and, Strong capital and reserves.
“In addition, the Board is delivering on the strategic priorities outlined at the Company’s Capital Markets Day in November 2025, with notable milestones achieved over the second half of 2025, including: i) the establishment of a Bermuda insurer, completing the globalisation of the Company, with access to all major markets including a significant presence in the US; ii) investments in expertise in the fast growing and exciting domain of transition underwriting; and iii) focusing on innovation-led growth, including in Alternative Risk Transfer (ILS and Captives),” continues the statement.
It will be interesting to see if Zurich returns with an improved offer, or if the global insurer instead settles for a new syndicate at Lloyd’s, as reported recently.
