WURTTEMBERG SELLS LONDON PORTFOLIO TO LIGHTYEAR VEHICLE

A newly formed Bermudian vehicle New York-based private equity group Lightyear Capital is to acquire the renewal rights to the London market portfolio of German insurer Württembergische Versichering, itself a subsidiary of Wüstenrot and Württembergische AG. The vehicle, named Antares Holdings, will form a new Lloyd’s syndicate — Antares Syndicate 1274 — that will begin writing in 2008 with an underwriting capacity of £135m. The syndicate will be managed by Chaucer Syndicates Ltd, the managing agency unit of UK-based insurer Chaucer. The renewal rights pertain to an existing specialty insurance portfolio with eight lines of business. It will continue to be run by Stephen Redmond and the executive team and staff of the German operation will also transfer to Antares. Lightyear CEO Donald Marron said that the UK operation of Württembergische was “a solid business with significant potential” and that repositioning it as a Lloyd’s syndicate would help it become “a recognised leader in its categories”. Equity partners with Lightyear in Antares include Chaucer Holdings, Württembergische Versicherung, and private equity players Hamilton Lane and Norwest Equity. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Chaucer said that it had invested “up to” £15m. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.