Appleby has recently acted as Bermuda counsel for both Peak Reinsurance Holdings Limited ("Peak Re") and the International Finance Corporation ("IFC") in relation to the issuance of shares in Peak Re to IFC and Spinel Investments Limited of approximately US$550 million.
Peak Re's Hong Kong subsidiary Peak Reinsurance Company Limited is aiming initially to capture the growing demand for reinsurance in the Asia-Pacific region and has planned to service markets in the region. Peak Re has an issued capital of US$550 million, with Fosun International contributing US$468 million as the founding shareholder and IFC putting in an equity investment of US$82 million. Fosun International is a major investment group with a focus on China and IFC is the investment arm of the World Bank Group. Both companies have teamed up to capitalise on the growing demand of the Asia-Pacific reinsurance market.
The Appleby team was led by Judy Lee, Partner, who acted for Peak Reinsurance and assisted by Associate, Paul Cheuk. Jeffrey Kirk, Partner, headed the team acting for International Finance Corporation, assisted by Associate, Rupen Shah. DLA Piper acted as counsel for Peak Reinsurance, while Clifford Chance acted as counsel for International Finance Corporation.
Jeffrey Kirk commented "We are delighted to advise on this transaction. Even though we are seeing the (re)insurance industry continuing to face challenges emanating from the Eurozone debt crisis, we are seeing positive signs on the horizon for Asian (re)insurers. It is forecast that the (re)insurance market of Asian markets will continue to outperform developed markets. The launch of a new reinsurer demonstrates this trend". Judy Lee further remarked "The joint forces of a China-based investment group and an international financial institution will no doubt provide a strong competitive advantage in Peak Re's emergence into a world-class reinsurer".
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