ACE-Chubb tie elevates company to ‘elite’ group of insurers

Re/insurer ACE has agreed to acquire The Chubb Corporation for $28.3 billion. The combined entity will eventually use the Chubb brand and be led by Evan Greenberg, now chairman and CEO of ACE.

John Finnegan, chairman, president and CEO of Chubb, will serve as executive vice chairman for external affairs of North America and will assist with integration.

The combined company will remain a Swiss company with principal offices in Zurich. Chubb’s headquarters in Warren, New Jersey, will house a substantial portion of the headquarters function for the combined company’s North American division.

Under the terms of the transaction, Chubb shareholders will receive $62.93 per share in cash and 0.6019 shares of ACE stock. Based on the closing price of ACE stock on June 30, 2015, the total value is approximately $124.13 per Chubb share, or $28.3 billion in the aggregate.

Upon closing of the transaction, ACE shareholders will own 70 percent of the combined company, and Chubb shareholders will own 30 percent. The consideration represents an approximately 30 percent premium to Chubb’s closing price of $95.14 on June 30, 2015.

In a statement, the companies said the combined company will remain a growth company with a commitment to underwriting discipline.

The companies stressed that the combined balance sheet of the two entities will elevate the business into an elite group of global P&C insurers. As of December 31, 2014, on an aggregate basis, the combined company had total shareholders’ equity of nearly $46 billion and cash, investments and other assets of $150 billion.

“We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of Chubb, a venerable company with a great brand,” said Greenberg. “This transaction advances our strategy in a meaningful way and represents an outstanding opportunity to create significant value over a reasonable period of time for both ACE and Chubb shareholders.

“We are combining two great underwriting companies that are highly complementary. We will make each other better and create a unique company in a class of its own that has greater growth and earning power than the sum of the two companies separately.”

John Finnegan, chairman, president and CEO of Chubb, said: “This is a compelling transaction for all Chubb and ACE stakeholders. The combination brings together two highly respected and successful companies with complementary capabilities, assets and geographic footprints.

“We are confident that it will deliver strong value to Chubb shareholders, including an immediate premium and participation in the future growth and profitability of a well-positioned combined company. We are pleased that the combined company will adopt the Chubb brand and view this as an affirmation that both companies share a commitment to the attributes of quality and service the brand represents. We look forward to working together as we create a best-in-class global franchise in P&C insurance.”

In the US commercial lines business, ACE provides a broad range of products and services for industrial commercial, multinational and upper middle market companies with distribution substantially through a major brokerage presence.

In comparison, Chubb is primarily a middle-market commercial, specialty and surety insurer with a broad product portfolio and a major agency presence. In personal insurance, Chubb is a leading provider of personal lines coverage to high net worth customers in the US while ACE has been increasingly focused on these customers as well.

Outside the US, ACE is a premier commercial insurer with a presence in 54 countries and a broad product, customer and distribution capability. Chubb’s operations in 25 countries will complement and deepen ACE’s presence, the companies said.

ACE has a leading market position in global accident and health (A&H) and both companies offer complementary personal lines offerings in Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

“We will be well balanced with greater presence and capabilities in product areas that have less exposure to the commercial P&C cycle,” said Greenberg. “We have complementary product strengths – where one of us is not present, the other is. Where one of us is strong, the other is even stronger. Where there is overlap in product, generally one of us is more present at the large end of the corporate market while the other is serving the smaller or mid-market segment.

“The data and insight we will gain from our respective skills and experience will allow us to do so much more. For example, Chubb will enhance ACE’s ability to serve the upper middle market, while ACE will provide more products to serve Chubb’s middle market clients, and our combined strengths will enable us to pursue the small and micro markets globally.

“Finally, we will benefit from each other’s complementary cultures, including a shared passion for underwriting discipline and outstanding claims service. Operating under the Chubb name, with sustained long-term underwriting profit and a larger invested asset base that will benefit from rising interest rates, we will take advantage of the growth opportunities and significant efficiencies to be gained between us.

“Together, we will grow more substantially and at a faster rate, producing greater earnings, than we could achieve as two separate companies. We look forward to welcoming the talented Chubb employees and their customers and distribution partners to the ACE family.”