Hong Kong-Based Peak Re to Acquire Bermuda ILS Asset Manager Lutece

April 8, 2020

Peak Reinsurance Co. Ltd. has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 100% of the capital of Lutece Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiary Lutece Investment Management Ltd., a Bermuda-based insurance linked securities (ILS) asset manager.

The transaction is subject to regulatory procedures and is expected to close in coming weeks. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Lutece was founded in 2017 by industry veterans Erik Manning and Angus Ayliffe, each with decades of experience in reinsurance and ILS. Lutece is currently known in the ILS market for operating a very specific and targeted retro strategy, said Peak Re.

Going forward, Lutece will provide Peak Re with a platform for expansion into other areas of the ILS market. Lutece Investment Management will be renamed Peak Capital and will become a fully owned subsidiary of Peak Re.

“The acquisition of Lutece carries Peak Re forward in its aspirations in ILS by bringing Lutece’s expertise in house. This will definitely be accretive to our capabilities in capital and third-party capital management,” according to Peak Re CEO Franz Josef Hahn.

“We see opportunities from growing Asian risk exposures. Lutece’s professionals with ILS and structuring expertise, combined with Peak Re’s strong underwriting and operating franchise, will create new avenues for us to innovate for both customers and investors, working towards our ambition of narrowing the protection gap in Asia,” Hahn added.

Peak Re said it launched Asia’s first reinsurance sidecar transaction, Lion Rock Re, in 2018. It was upsized at the end of 2019 with strong investor support.

“We are delighted to become a part of Peak Re and look forward to bringing our assets and areas of expertise to help strengthen Peak Re’s platform,” said Lutece’s CEO Manning.

“Peak Re’s analytical-underwriting model is very much in keeping with the culture of Lutece, and with that foundation we are looking forward to helping to expand Peak Re’s ILS footprint,” he added.

Peak Re is one of the few locally established reinsurance companies in Asia Pacific, underwriting both life and non-life reinsurance business. With a shareholder equity of over US$1 billion as of June 30, 2019, it enjoys an “A-” rating by A.M. Best. It ranks among the top 30 global reinsurance groups in terms of net written premiums, according to S&P’s rankings of top 40 global reinsurance groups in 2019.

Source: Peak Re