Markel to Acquire Assets of CATCo Investment Management Ltd. ; Financial Terms Not Disclosed

Markel Corporation

and CATCo Investment Management Ltd. jointly announced today that they have entered into an agreement whereby Markel will acquire substantially all of the assets of CATCo. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015. Additional terms were not disclosed. Upon completion of the acquisition, the business will operate as Markel CATCo Investment Management Ltd. ("Markel CATCo"). The existing CATCo management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Tony Belisle, will transition into commensurate roles at Markel CATCo and will operate the business from its Hamilton, Bermuda, headquarters under Markel's ownership. Richard R. Whitt, President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Markel, commented, "We are very pleased for Tony Belisle and the entire CATCo team to join Markel. The addition of CATCo's insurance linked investment management capabilities alongside Markel's traditional reinsurance capabilities makes for a powerful combination. While Markel has a long and successful track record in the insurance linked securities space, the addition of the CATCo team takes our capabilities to an entirely new level. The current challenges in the reinsurance and retrocessional markets are