The Beazley PLC board has signalled agreement for the insurer to be acquired by Swiss giant Zurich, in a deal worth around £8 billion.
An agreement in principle has been reached on the financial terms of a possible offer of 1,310p in cash plus a dividend of up to 25p to be paid by Beazley before the deal closes.
The total of up to 1,335p per share represents a premium of nearly 60% to Beazley’s closing price before the talks were made public last month, and is higher than the 1,280p initial cash bid.
The board of Beazley said it was prepared to recommend the proposal, subject to the resolution of other terms and completion of a binding offer.
If completed, the transaction would create a specialist insurance business with roughly $15 billion in gross written premiums and give Zurich a significant platform within the Lloyd’s of London insurance market, where Beazley is a major player.
Zurich now has until 16 February to confirm whether it will make a formal offer. The company said it looked forward to beginning due diligence and finalising terms. However, it added there was no certainty that a firm offer would be made.