A whopping 5.5 million of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd’s common shares are up for grabs in an underwritten public offering.

The global (re)insurance provider – which has offices in Bermuda, Australia, Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK, and the US – has commenced the offering, with Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acting as joint book-running managers and representatives of the underwriters for the massive equity issue.

In its announcement, RenaissanceRe also said: “State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, which currently owns approximately 4.4% of RenaissanceRe’s total common shares outstanding, has entered into an investment agreement to purchase, subject to the consummation of the underwritten public offering and other customary conditions, approximately US$75 million of the company’s common shares at the public offering price per share in a concurrent private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended.”

Net proceeds from the underwritten public offering are intended to be used for general corporate purposes such as entering new business lines or expanding existing ones, forming new joint ventures, and acquiring other companies’ books of business.