Liberty Mutual acquires four AmTrust businesses

Following a rocky start to the year, after announcing its intent to delist preferred shares from the New York Stock Exchange, AmTrust Financial has sold off its global surety and credit reinsurance operations to Liberty Mutual Insurance.

According to reports released today, the global P&C insurer has signed a definitive agreement to acquire four AmTrust businesses, which upon closing will include:

• AmTrust Surety, which provides contract, commercial, and subdivision bonds primarily in the western US
• AmTrust Insurance Spain, which offers surety bonds in Spain and Latin America
• Nationale Borg, which provides surety, worker disability, and home purchase bonds in the Netherlands and Belgium
• Nationale Borg Reinsurance (NBRe), which is a global provider of surety, trade credit and political risk reinsurance

The AmTrust Surety portion of the acquisition is expected to close in Q2 of 2019, while the AmTrust Insurance Spain, Nationale Borg, and NBRe portions are expected to close in the second half of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

“The transaction will further enhance our strong global surety and reinsurance expertise, market leadership, and geographic footprint,” commented Dennis Langwell, president of global risk solutions for Liberty Mutual. ”Once the transaction closes, we'll integrate the acquired operations into our current structure.”

Read more: Liberty Mutual names new chief of staff for global risk unit

According to Liberty Mutual leadership, the acquisition will also help underscore Liberty Mutual's global surety market position. 

“We believe this transaction will strengthen our best-in-class operation, allowing us to better serve our valued agents, brokers, and customers,” said Tim Mikolajewski, president of global surety. ”The added scale and key talent aligns well with our model and goals in the US, and will provide a platform for broader global development through AmTrust Insurance Spain, Nationale Borg, and Nationale Borg Reinsurance.”

For AmTrust, the acquisition is an important move in the company’s strategic plan to set it up for long-term success. 

“Earlier this year, we announced our plan to become a leading specialty commercial P&C insurer by focusing on local markets and niche products where we can add significant value,” said Barry Zyskind, chairman and CEO of AmTrust. “The agreement with Liberty Mutual enables us to focus our resources in areas where we can differentiate ourselves through the value we bring to distribution partners and buyers.”