Zurich, October 9, 1998. - Zurich Financial Services announced today that it has agreed to sell Eagle Star Reinsurance Company Ltd., UK, to GE Capital. Eagle Star Re will operate as part of GE Capital’s Employers Reinsurance Corp. The transaction does not include business written by Eagle Star before 1993, except for certain specific aviation lines written through British Aviation Insurance Group.
Zurich Financial Services and GE Capital anticipate that the transaction will be completed by year end, subject to regulatory approval. The terms of the transaction will not be disclosed. However Eagle Star Re’s net assets under UK GAAP were GBP 232.8 million as at December 31, 1997.
Dirk Lohmann, member of Zurich Financial Services’ Group Executive Board in charge of the Reinsurance business division, commented: "This is a step in line with implementing Zurich Financial Services Group’s reinsurance strategy in the London Market. We are very pleased that ERC has emerged as the acquirer of Eagle Star Re, which has been a very well managed and consistently profitable underwriter of new business since its formation in 1993. We are also happy that the pre-1993 liabilities, for which reserves have been substantially increased in recent years, will be managed within the Zurich Financial Services Group by IRISC Ltd., an increasingly important centre of excellence in claims management."
"Adding Eagle Star Re to GE Capital significantly strengthens our position in the U.K. broker market," said Kaj Ahlmann, chairman, CEO and president of Employers Reinsurance. "This acquisition enhances our ability to offer creative risk management solutions to a larger and more diverse group of customers."
Employers Reinsurance Corporation of Overland Park, Kansas, USA, is the third largest reinsurance company in the world with 46 locations worldwide. ERC operates in Europe under the name of ERC Frankona with headquarters in Munich, Germany. ERC is a unit of GE Capital.
GE Capital, with assets of more than USD 250 billion, is a global, diversified financial services company with 28 specialized businesses. A wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric Company, GE Capital, based in Stamford, CT, provides equipment management, mid-market and specialized financing, specialty insurance and a variety of consumer services, such as car leasing, home mortgages and credit cards, to businesses and individuals around the world. GE is a diversified manufacturing, technology and services company with operations worldwide.
