Apollo Global Management has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Bermuda-based Catalina Holdings, as Catalina’s Canadian investors Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan step out of the picture.
In December 2013, affiliates of Apollo made an initial investment in Catalina. Now with the latest transaction, the Apollo acquisition vehicle (expected to include investment from certain long-term institutional and strategic investors) will have a controlling interest in the business. The agreement is subject to customary regulatory conditions and is projected to close in Q1 2018.
Since Apollo’s investment in 2013, Catalina has roughly doubled in size. The holding company has completed 23 transactions, acquiring $.7 billion of non-life insurance and reinsurance liabilities. As of June 30, 2017, Catalina had total assets of $3.6 billion and shareholders’ equity of $700 million.
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“We’re delighted that Apollo, and the long term institutional shareholders supporting it, are increasing their shareholding in Catalina,” said Catalina Holdings chairman and CEO Chris Fagan. “They are doing so at a time of significant change in the non-life insurance legacy sector which is developing faster now than at any point over the last 15 years. Catalina is one of the leading consolidators in the non-life run-off sector and together with our new shareholders, we believe the company is ideally positioned to continue our strong growth and development.”
“I would like to thank our exiting investors Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan for their consistent support over the last 10 years and the role they have played n helping us to build Catalina,” Fagan added.
“We fully support the outstanding management team at Catalina and are excited about the opportunity to deepen our relationship with the business,” commented Apollo Global Management senior partner Gernot Lohr. “While already significant, the market for non-life legacy acquisitions continues to grow, and we believe Catalina is well positioned to capitalize on these opportunities due to its deep industry expertise as evidenced by its successful track record. We look forward to working with Catalina during the next phase of its growth and development.”
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