XL Completes Purchase of Le Mans Re

XL Completes Purchase of Le Mans Re

NU Online News Service, Sept.3, 3:56 p.m. EDT?XL Capital Ltd., based in Bermuda, announced it has purchased the remaining 33 percent of Le Mans R? held by Les Mutuelles du Mans Assurances Group.

The cost of the transaction was not disclosed.

Le Mans R?, based in Le Mans, France, was formed as a joint venture in 1999 between XL and MMA. XL had increased its share in Le Mans R? from 49 percent to 67 percent in 2002.

As a result of the acquisition, Le Mans R?'s name has been changed to XL Re Europe, aligning under the XL Re brand used by the company's global reinsurance operations.

Chief executive of XL's reinsurance operations, Henry C.V. Keeling, said that "having XL Re Europe as a full-fledged XL company is a crucial factor in the ongoing development of our global reinsurance operations. It continues to strengthen our business and market presence in Continental Europe since, prior to XL Re Europe, we had limited access to the European reinsurance market."

Charles Werner Skrzynski, CEO of XL Re Europe, noted that "XL Re Europe's customers and brokers will benefit in many ways from this final step in our process of integration into the reinsurance operations of XL. Not only are we now a complete part of a highly rated and capitalized organization, but we will also be able to offer greater capacity and enhanced expertise."