AXA’s target for new Eiffel Re cat bond lifts to as much as €150m

Global insurance and reinsurance group AXA has increased its appetite for European windstorm reinsurance protection through the new Eiffel Re Ltd. (Series 2023-1) catastrophe bond issuance, with the deal now targeted at up to €150 million in size.

When this Eiffel Re 2023-1 deal launched earlier this month, AXA was seeking at least €125 million in European windstorm reinsurance protection from what is the first cat bond any AXA entity has sponsored since 2019.

Eiffel Re Ltd., which is actually the previously used Galilei Re SPI that has now been renamed, was looking to issue a single tranche of Series 2023-1 catastrophe bond notes sized at €125 million.

But we’re now told the target has been lifted, with up to €150 million of protection now sought.

The notes will provide AXA and affiliates with both reinsurance and retrocessional protection for European windstorm losses group-wide, on an an industry-loss trigger and per-occurrence basis over a roughly three and a half year term.

The now up to €150 million in Series 2023-1 Class A notes that Eiffel Re Ltd. will issue have an initial expected loss of 0.45% and were first offered to investors with spread price guidance in a range from 3.25% to 3.75%.

We’re now told that the price guidance has been revised, narrowed towards the lower-end of that range, at 3.25% to 3.5%.

So AXA looks set to secure its new catastrophe bond at a slightly larger size and with the pricing at the mid-point of initial guidance or lower.

You can read all about AXA’s new Eiffel Re Ltd. (Series 2023-1) catastrophe bond and every transaction issued since 1996 in the Artemis Deal Directory.