R&Q Insurance to offload Accredited to Onex

R&Q Insurance Holdings is selling its program management business Accredited to private equity platform Onex Partners, part of asset manager Onex Corporation, for $465 million.

In a London Stock Exchange filing, R&Q said the sale is conditional on, among other things, the transfer of chief executive William Spiegel and chief financial officer Thomas Solomon to Accredited when the deal closes.

The proposed transaction is also conditional on R&Q shareholder approval, regulatory approval, as well as customary consents from certain debt providers of the non-life specialty insurance company.

“Upon closing of the sale, group non-executive chairman Jeff Hayman will act as chairman and interim chief executive officer of R&Q,” the group, which has already separated its legacy insurance business from Accredited, went on to note.

R&Q chief accounting officer Paul Bradbrook is slated to become CFO and a member of the board, while a new CEO will be appointed in due course.

Offloading Accredited will refocus R&Q as a legacy insurance business in Bermuda, Europe, the US, and the UK. Post-deal, a “simpler and better capitalised” R&Q will have a legacy platform manned by more than 150 people.

“We believe this transaction represents the best possible outcome for R&Q’s stakeholders, enabling R&Q to realise value for a business we have grown from a standing start in 2017 while allowing Accredited to maintain its essential independent financial strength rating of ‘A-’ under new ownership.”

Net cash proceeds from the sale are expected to be approximately $300 million.

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