RiverStone taps former Enstar/Catlin execs to help drive global growth

Former Enstar and Catlin Group executives have joined the board of  RiverStone Europe Group, which will now operate as  RiverStone International.

CVC Capital Partners has completed the acquisition of RiverStone Europe from Fairfax Financial Holdings and OMERS, the pension plan for Ontario’s municipal employees.

RiverStone is one of the largest global consolidators of non-life run-off insurance books, with a leading position in the UK and Lloyd's markets. It has over 20 years of experience helping insurers release capital, streamline their operations and reduce volatility. Since 2010 the company has completed 22 acquisitions of legacy non-life books from blue-chip insurers and today manages around $4 billion of insurance reserves.

The company has appointed Preben Prebensen as independent non-executive chair to the group board. Preben has over 40 years of experience in the financial services and insurance sectors. He was also formerly the chief investment officer and a member of the group executive committee at Catlin Group, the international non-life insurer, and CEO at Wellington Underwriting, the specialist insurer. He will support RiverStone International’s ambitious growth plans as an independent company.

Nick Packer will also join as an independent non-executive director to the group board. Packer is one of the co-founders of Enstar, the leading non-life run-off specialist, and subsequently served as chief operating officer. He brings years of industry experience that will help to cement RiverStone International’s position within the global run-off insurance market.

Luke Tanzer (pictured), chief executive officer of RiverStone International, said “We are delighted to partner with CVC in this next chapter of our development, and look forward to pursuing our growth and development plans with the benefit of their extensive industry experience, global reach and long-term capital. We have continued to see strong growth and activity in the run-off insurance markets this year and are excited about our future plans.”

Peter Rutland, a managing partner and head of financial services at CVC, added: “The company’s leading position in its markets, embedded cash flows and predictable financial profile means it is ideally suited to our Strategic Opportunities platform. We’re delighted to be supporting Luke and his team and, now with Preben and Nick on board, look forward to supporting their plans to accelerate the company’s value creation plan.”

Prebensen commented: “I am pleased to be joining a company with such a strong proposition and reputation in the insurance sector as RiverStone International. I look forward to working with Luke, his team and the rest of the Board to help the business fully realise its potential.”

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.