AXIS raises offer for Novae acquisition

Bermuda-based re/insurer AXIS Capital Holdings said on Aug. 24 that it raised its cash offer to acquire Lloyd's property/casualty underwriter Novae Group to £477.6 million, or 715 pence in cash for each Novae share.

On 5 July 2017, the boards of AXIS and Novae announced that they had reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended all cash acquisition of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Novae by AXIS at a price of 700 pence in cash for each Novae share, valuing the company £468 million for Novae.

The financial terms of the Increased Offer are final and will not be increased, except in case of an offer or possible offer for Novae by a third party.

The Increased Offer represents a premium of approximately 23 per cent to the closing price of 581 pence per Novae share on July 4, 2017, the last business day before the date of the original announcement, and a premium of approximately 31 per cent to the volume weighted average closing price per Novae Share for the one month period up to and including July 4, 2017, the last business day before the date of the original announcement.

The consideration payable under the increased offer also implies a multiple of 1.5x Novae’s reported net tangible book value of £318.8 million as at Dec. 31, 2016 and a multiple of 1.6x Novae’s reported net tangible book value of £300.6 million as at June 30, 2017.

The consideration payable under the Increased Offer will be funded from AXIS’s existing cash resources or, if market conditions are favourable, from new borrowings.

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