Beazley has accepted a takeover offer from Zurich which values the UK group at £8bn.

The speciality insurer had previously turned down a £7.7bn offer from Zurich last month, which it said “materially undervalued” both the company and its longer-term prospects.

Zurich’s approach last month followed another attempt by the Swiss group to buy Beazley that was rebuffed in June last year.

A joint statement released today confirmed Beazley and Zurich have now reached an agreement in principle for the takeover that values Beazley at £13.35 per share. This comprises an offer price of £13.10 per share in cash, with shareholders also set to receive a 25p dividend prior to completion of the deal.

The approximate £8bn valuation is 62.8% higher than Beazley’s market capitalisation as implied by the company’s closing share price of £8.20 on 16 January.

“The transaction would combine two highly complementary businesses and would establish a leading, global specialty platform with $15bn of gross written premiums, based in the UK which would also leverage Beazley’s Lloyd’s of London presence,” the joint statement from the pair said.

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