(Bloomberg) -- Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. agreed to a 52%increase in the size of the dividend that PartnerRe Ltd.shareholders would get before their planned merger, seeking to fendoff a hostile bid for the reinsurer from Exor SpA.

The dividend was raised to $17.50 from $11.50, Bermuda-basedPartnerRe and Axis said Thursday in a statement.

Exor is seeking to buy PartnerRe for cash and has been improvingterms since making its initial unsolicited bid to break up thecompany’s deal with Axis, a Bermuda-based insurer. Turin-based Exorhas offered $6.8 billion, and said last week that it would lift thedividend rate on PartnerRe preferred shares by one percentage pointand won’t call three series of the securities until 2021. Axis saidThursday that it would match Exor terms on preferred stock.

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