Amlin Acquires Fortis Corporate for €350m

Amlin plc (“Amlin” or the “Group”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Fortis Corporate Insurance N.V. (“FCI” or the “Company”), a leading provider of corporate property and casualty insurance in the Netherlands and Belgium, from the State of the Netherlands (the “Seller”) for €350 million (the “Acquisition”). 

Amlin will also announce separately today a placing of 23,502,567 shares, representing approximately 5 per cent. of Amlin’s issued ordinary share capital, to institutional investors, in order to finance part of the consideration that is payable to the Seller (the “Placing”). The balance of the consideration will be funded from Amlin’s existing cash resources. 

Key Acquisition highlights

• Establishes a substantial Continental European platform, providing Amlin with immediate scale in a key strategic market and opportunities for future expansion
• Positions Amlin as a leading provider of marine, liability and commercial property insurance in the Netherlands and Belgium
• Expected to enhance earnings and return on equity (“ROE”) in 2009(1) and to contribute to Amlin’s cross cycle target ROE of at least 15%
• Diversifies Amlin’s portfolio in terms of geography, customer base, business lines and distribution
• Enhances Amlin’s overall business mix by increasing the proportion of commercial lines insurance
• Introduces an experienced management team to lead further European growth
• Increases the scale of the Group’s investment activities and presents scope for significant reinsurance synergies
• Enlarged Group will retain capital strength and flexibility for further profitable expansion where market conditions are favourable 
• Shareholders’ approval will be sought at a general meeting

Information on FCI

FCI is a leading provider of corporate property and casualty insurance and risk management solutions in the Netherlands and Belgium. Headquartered in Amstelveen, the Netherlands, the Company also has offices in Rotterdam, Antwerp, Brussels and Paris.  FCI is regulated by the Dutch Central Bank (the “DNB”) and is licensed to write most lines of non-life business across Europe with the exception of motor (only Belgium and the Netherlands) and credit insurance.  Formerly part of the Fortis Group, FCI was created as a result of a merger in 1999 between Fortis-Industrial and Amev-Interlloyd. On 3 October 2008 the Dutch government became the 100% shareholder of FCI as part of the nationalisation of the Dutch entities of the Fortis Group.

Based on market estimates, FCI holds a strong competitive position. In the Netherlands, which represented 63% of gross written premiums (“GWP”) in 2008, FCI targets the co-insurance market. It is the market leader in Dutch marine insurance, and holds a top three position in liability and commercial property insurance. In Belgium, representing 36% of GWP, FCI is the market leader in marine and commercial property insurance and a top three provider of liability insurance.