Beazley to raise funds via major share sale

British insurer Beazley has announced that it aims to raise £385 million (around NZ$745.5 million) by selling new shares in the business, equivalent to a 10% stake.

The insurer said it will raise funds to expand its cyber and specialty businesses. It will conduct the share placement through an accelerated book-building process, with JP Morgan and Numis as the joint bookrunners, according to Reuters.

“Beazley is seeking to raise equity to support organic growth and provide growth capital to fund attractive underwriting opportunities,” the insurer said, as reported by Reuters.

The announcement follows the release of Beazley’s trading statement for the 9M period that ended September 30, 2022. Among the key highlights, it noted that its gross written premiums (GWP) jumped by 22% in the period to $3,980 million – up from $3,271 million last year. However, it recorded a mark-to-market investment loss of $289 million (or 3.6% year-to-date) compared to an income of $99 million (or 1.4%) last year.