Novae has Omega under microscope

Lloyd's of London insurer Novae has responded to press speculation and confirmed it is running the rule over its rival, Omega."In accordance with the group's publicly stated strategy, Novae routinely reviews possible transactions and confirms that it is currently undertaking due diligence in evaluating the merits of proposing a possible merger with Omega," the company said in a short announcement on Tuesday morning.The announcement included the standard caveat that there is no guarantee that it will make an offer for Omega. Omega Insurance Holdings has been "in play" since January of this year when it received an unsolicited approach from Canopius proposing an offer comprising a mixture of cash and unquoted share consideration. That approach came to nothing, but in March the company said it had received further bid approaches. The current year looks like being a tough one for the insurer and reinsurer, with the company estimating its likely ultimate losses, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, from the 2011 Queensland Floods and the 2011 New Zealand earthquake at $7.6m and $9.5m, respectively. On top of that, the company will have claims to settle from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.Omega's major shareholder, Invesco Perpetual, is likely to hold the key to any proposed merger; the fund holds 29.5% of Omega, and was instrumental in installing the bulk of the current executive management team, including the chief executive, Richard Pexton, and chairman, John Goldman.--jh Orascom Inv