Harrington Reinsurance Holdings Ltd. and its Harrington Re Ltd. subsidiary Tuesday said they had completed raising about $550 million of equity and $50 million of debt issuance, for a total of $600 million in capital.

This includes a $100 million equity investment by a subsidiary of Pembroke, Bermuda-based Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. and a roughly $50 million equity investment by the affiliates of the New York-based private equity firm Blackstone Group L.P., in a statement.

Based in Bermuda, Harrington Re Ltd. is the "total-return" reinsurance startup launched by Axis and Blackstone.

A subsidiary of Axis was appointed Harrington Re's exclusive liability manager, responsible for negotiating and sourcing reinsurance business for recommendation to the management of Harrington Re, according to the statement. Blackstone has been appointed Harrington Re's exclusive investment manager.

Harrington Re's strategy is to “combine a multiline reinsurance portfolio with a diversified allocation to alternative investment strategies to earn attractive risk-adjusted returns,” according to the statement. Bill Fischer, most recently chief underwriting officer of Axis Re, was appointed CEO of Harrington Re and will serve on its board.

Separately, A.M. Best Co. Inc. said it has assigned a financial strength rating of A- to Harrington Re Ltd.

“The plan is for AXIS to write business on behalf of Harrington with the goal of building a diversified, multi-line reinsurance book of business with strict limitations on property catastrophe risk,” Oldwick, New Jersey-based Best said Tuesday in a statement. “The investment portfolio is structured to have a balance of liquidity, cash flow, diversification by asset class, managed drawdown risk and strong absolute returns.”

Best said Harrington will seek to leverage the strengths of Axis' underwriting platform and will be invested across a multi-asset alternative strategy managed by Blackstone.

The rating, Best said “reflect the prudent business plans presented to A.M. Best, strong risk-adjusted capitalization, the credibility and capability of Harrington's management team, and the strong qualitative attributes of the sponsors.”