IGI to list publicly on Nasdaq as part of deal with Tiberius

The International General Insurance Holdings Company (IGI) has confirmed a deal with Tiberius Acquisitions Corporation, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, that will result in the public listing of IGI on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol ‘IGIC’.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. It will add about $120 million of equity to IGI’s balance sheet to support its core specialty re/insurance business and “enable IGI to take advantage of attractive worldwide market conditions”, the company said.

Following the acquisition, the senior management at IGI will continue to serve in their current roles and CEO and vice chairman Wasef Jabsheh will own approximately 24 percent of the company.

Jabsheh said: “Entering the public markets as a scaled, publicly traded, pure-play specialty commercial re/insurer enhances our ability to continue to prudently grow our business and compound tangible book value by delivering low-volatility returns.”

He said he was “particularly pleased” that he would continue to personally own a meaningful part of this company and oversee the next phase of IGI’s growth.

IGI’s IFRS book was valued at $316 million as of June 30, 2019, with operating earnings expected to be $30 million for 2019. The projected status of the market capitalisation of IGI is expected to be greater than $550 million.

Waleed Jabsheh, president of IGI, said: “As a recognised leader in non-US re/insurance commercial property casualty markets and one of the preeminent MENA underwriters in the world, IGI has a global platform and infrastructure that provides a service-focused approach for clients and will enable new shareholders to take advantage of current market conditions. “This transaction will allow IGI to continue to execute its organic growth plan through expanding capacity and relationships in its core Afro-Asian, European and Latin American markets, maintain high levels of capital adequacy, enhance its credit ratings over time, and facilitate its potential entry into the US excess and surplus (E&S) markets.”

Tiberius chairman and CEO Michael Gray, and Andrew Poole, chief investment officer, said in a joint statement: “The acquisition of IGI is perfectly aligned with our objectives. Since inception, IGI has had an enviable track record of growth in tangible book value per share through high-quality and low-volatility ROE, cycle management, its conservative reserving philosophy and a unique ability to benefit from changes in the property casualty insurance cycle.”

They added: “Recent catastrophic events during 2017 and 2018 along with the low interest rate environment globally are driving rate momentum in the global re/insurance market. The time for IGI to enhance its capitalisation and access to low cost capital to take advantage of these conditions is ideal and we look forward to participating in the company’s future success as significant investors and providing our experienced investment management and public market perspectives to drive further value creation going forward.”

The boards of both Tiberius and IGI have unanimously approved the proposed transaction with completion of the deal subject to the approval of Tiberius stockholders, the SEC declaring a registration statement effective and other customary/regulatory closing conditions.

Launched in 2001, IGI is an international specialist re/insurer underwriting a worldwide portfolio of energy, property, construction and engineering, ports and terminals, financial institutions, casualty, legal expenses, general aviation, professional indemnity, marine liability, political violence, forestry and reinsurance treaty business through its presence in Bermuda, London, Amman, Dubai, Labuan and Casablanca.