Reinsurance giant Swiss Re is looking to float its UK closed book business ReAssure next year, as it looks to access new capital to buy more closed books.
The firm, which at the same time posted a 17 per cent fall in net profit for the first half of 2018, said it was exploring a potential IPO as part of an ongoing strategy to secure "third-party capital to pursue further closed book transactions".
The firm said: "Given the size of potential opportunities that are expected to come up in the market over the mid-term, it is important for ReAssure to have access to substantial new capital to acquire additional closed books.
"Under Swiss Re's Swiss Solvency Test capital regime, ReAssure's asset-intensive business is subject to significant asset risk charges. Nonetheless, the closed book consolidation market remains an attractive growth area for Swiss Re, which is expected to remain a significant investor in ReAssure."
The business reported net profit of $1bn (£768m) during the first six months, down from $1.2bn a year earlier, owing to GAAP accounting guidance which affected the measurement of equity investments.
Profits in the Property & Casualty Reinsurance division jumped 38 per cent to $752m, while Life & Health Reinsurance stood at $398m. Corporate Solutions profit increased 49 per cent to $58m "in a moderately improving market environment", it said.
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