Orascom Inv Regulatory News (OIH)

16 Apr 2008 08:00

Omega Insurance Holdings Limited16 April 2008 Not for release, publication or distribution in whole or in part in, into or from any jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction OMEGA INSURANCE HOLDINGS LIMITED ("Omega" or the "Company") Discussions with potential offerors terminated On 7 February 2008, the Board of Omega announced that it was in discussions witha number of parties who had expressed an interest in acquiring the Company. Since that time the Board has pursued discussions with the potential offerorsand whilst the parties have indicated interest in acquiring the Company at apremium to the current share price, the Board believe that the proposedindicative offers undervalue the long term value inherent in the Company andhave decided to terminate talks with all parties. The Board therefore announcesthat the Company is currently no longer in talks regarding a possible takeover. Further to the announcement on 13 March 2008, the Board can confirm that tradingby the Omega Group in the current financial year continues to be strong and inline with the Directors' expectations and the Board is confident of the futureprospects of the business. In particular, Omega US, the group's US insurancecompany, is now eligible to write surplus lines business in 24 states with otherapprovals expected shortly. Omega US is successfully building upon the Group'sestablished key trading relationships in its areas of focus and income isdeveloping in line with its business plan. Walter Fiederowicz, Chairman of Omega, commented: "We went into bid talks with an open mind, fully accepting that if a party wouldpay the right price for our franchise today then we would act accordingly in thebest interests of shareholders. Our people and our business have come throughquite extensive due diligence in the best light, but we do not believe thatbidders' valuations adequately reflect the value of Omega today and the value ofwhat we are building in Bermuda and in the US. The Board has therefore decidedto terminate these discussions at this point in time." Contact:John Coles +44 (0) 20 7936 9604Threadneedle Notes to Editors Omega became the new holding company of the Omega group on 9 November 2006 when the scheme of arrangement of Omega Underwriting Holdings PLC (the Omega group's previous holding company and now wholly-owned by Omega) ("OUH") became effective. On the same day the common shares of Omega were admitted to trading on AIM, the admission of OUH's shares to trading on AIM was cancelled and OUH was re-registered as a private limited liability company. The Omega group, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Omega Underwriting Agents Limited, acts as a Lloyd's managing agent for Syndicate 958 and in February 2006established a new insurance and reinsurance business, Omega Specialty Insurance Company Limited ("Omega Specialty"), based in Bermuda. In September 2006 Omega incorporated a new subsidiary, Omega US Insurance, Inc. ("Omega US Insurance"), in Delaware which is held under a Delaware incorporated intermediate holding company Omega US Holdings, Inc.. • Syndicate 958 Syndicate 958 had a capacity for the 2006 year of account of £249 million and capacity for the 2007 year of account of £274 million. Capacity for the 2008 year of account is £249 million. The Syndicate has made an underwriting profit in every closed year of account since its inception in the 1980 year of account.The Syndicate has focused predominantly on short-tail property insurance and reinsurance, insuring small to medium sized insureds and reinsuring the smaller insurance companies. The Syndicate's financial strength rating from A.M. Best Company, Inc. of "A" (Excellent) and an Issuer Credit Rating of "a+" (Excellent) were reaffirmed on 21 May 2007. • Omega Specialty Omega Specialty is authorised by the Bermuda Monetary Authority as a Class 3 insurer, underwriting its targeted classes of insurance and reinsurance, key in which are non-marine property insurance, professional indemnity insurance, property catastrophe treaty reinsurance and property per risk treaty reinsurance. Omega Specialty's financial strength rating from A.M. Best Company, Inc. of "A-"(Excellent) was reaffirmed on 21 May 2007. • Omega US Insurance Omega US Insurance is authorised as an admitted insurer in Delaware and underwrites on a surplus lines basis in other US States. Omega US Insurance is currently eligible to write surplus lines business in 24 US states and will underwrite in all other states once it has been granted the requisite eligibility in each US State. It is capitalised at US$50 million from the net proceeds of a share placing by OUH in October 2006. Omega US received a financial strength rating from A.M. Best Company, Inc. of "A-" (Excellent) on 3 December 2007. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange