Fairfax sells $375m stake in Lloyd’s re/insurer Brit to OMERS

Canadian property and casualty insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings has agreed to sell 14 percent interest in Lloyd’s re/insurer Brit for approximately $375 million.

Prem Watsa’s Fairfax has revealed that on February 10, 2021 the company entered into an agreement with Canadian pension fund, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).

The agreement will see OMERS acquire an approximate 14 percent interest in Brit for cash proceeds of approximately $375 million.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

After closing, the company will retain the flexibility to repurchase OMERS’ interest in Brit over time, it said.

Toronto-based Fairfax acquired Brit, an international general insurance and reinsurance group specialising in commercial insurance, with a major presence in the Lloyd's of London market, for £1.22 billion in April 2015 from its biggest shareholders Apollo Global Management and CVC Capital.

In July 2015, after the closing of the transaction, Fairfax sold 29.9 percent of the Brit shares to OMERS, owning 70.1 percent with the ability to repurchase the shares owned by OMERS over time.

OMERS also owns stakes in Fairfax's other businesses, including Allied World.

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