White Mountains to buy Sirius

HAMILTON, Bermuda--White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd. has agreed to purchase Stockholm, Sweden-based insurance and reinsurance organization Sirius International Group from ABB Ltd. for approximately $425 million.

The primary Sirius International Group companies include Scandinavian reinsurer Sirius International Insurance Corp., U.S. insurance company Sirius America Insurance Co. and Scandinavian Reinsurance Co. Ltd., a Bermuda-based finite reinsurer in runoff.

Hamilton, Bermuda-based White Mountains said it expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2004, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Following the purchase announcement, Standard & Poor's Corp. affirmed its ratings on White Mountains and Sirius International, with a stable outlook. While acknowledging the transaction did pose some near-term integration risks, S&P said its view was based on the acquisition's potential long-term benefits for White Mountains offered by the international scale of Sirius International's business and the earnings diversification it would provide.