Transatlantic, Validus to enter into talks
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(Reuters)—Reinsurers Transatlantic Holdings Inc. and Validus Holdings Ltd. have signed a confidentiality agreement and will exchange information as a prelude to buyout talks, the companies said on Friday.
Transatlantic last week called off a merger with Allied World in the face of overwhelming opposition. Earlier this week, it said it would not accept an unsolicited bid from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. either.
Validus made an unsolicited offer for Transatlantic in July, but after they failed to come to terms on a confidentiality pact, Validus took its offer directly to shareholders.
Since then, both companies have sued each other and Validus has taken steps to replace Transatlantic's board. The companies have now agreed to a cool-down period to Oct. 31, during which they will not act on those suits and Validus will not buy any more Transatlantic stock.
At closing prices Friday, the Validus offer was worth $2.80 billion, valuing Transatlantic at about two-thirds of book value.
Validus said that as of Thursday night, a total of 699 Transatlantic shares had been tendered into its offer, or roughly one-one-thousandth of 1 percent of Transatlantic shares.
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