Zurich Insurance Reaches $11 Billion Deal to Buy U.K. Insurer Beazley

By Elena Vardon

Zurich Insurance and Beazley agreed on an improved takeover bid valuing the U.K. cyber insurer at around 8.0 billion pounds ($10.96 billion).

The Swiss insurer has been courting the London-listed group since last year and in January went public with several offers that were turned down.

Under the sweetened cash bid, Beazley shareholders would get 13.35 pounds for each of their shares, the companies said Wednesday in a joint statement. This includes a dividend payment and represents a 63% premium to Beazley's closing price of 8.20 pounds on Jan. 16, the day before the start of the offer period, they said.

Beazley's board, which had said that previous proposals undervalued the group and its prospects, said Wednesday that it would recommend the new bid and its financial terms to shareholders. The Swiss group has until Feb. 16 to submit a firm offer or walk away under U.K. takeover rules.

Zurich approached its smaller peer three times in June and put forward two offers in January, Beazley said last month. The last offer was for 12.80 pounds a share, below a 13.15 pounds-a-share bid made in June that wasn't disclosed at the time.

The Swiss insurer, which already operates in the U.K. and has a large global footprint, aims to create with the merger a global specialist platform with around $15 billion in gross written premiums.

Write to Elena Vardon at elena.vardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 04, 2026 02:59 ET (07:59 GMT)