Finance
UK's Beazley rejects Zurich Insurance's $10 billion takeover bid
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 22, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 22, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Beazley rejects Zurich's $10 billion bid, citing undervaluation. The rejection affected Beazley shares, and Zurich continues to seek expansion in speciality insurance.
Jan 22 (Reuters) - Beazley rejected a 7.67-billion-pound ($10.3 billion) takeover bid from Zurich Insurance on Thursday, citing that it "materially undervalues" the UK speciality insurer and was lower than another proposal it rejected last year.
The rejection sent Beazley shares down about 3% following a rally fuelled by optimism over Zurich's offer of 1,280 pence per share. The bid was at a 56% premium to Beazley's last closing price before the approaches were disclosed on Monday.
Beazley said Zurich's latest proposal was below the previous proposal of 1,315 pence apiece put forward by the Swiss group last June - also rejected by Beazley.
At the price, a deal for Beazley would have an implied equity value of 8.4 billion pounds, the company added.
Zurich Insurance, Europe's second-largest insurer by market value, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The company has been looking to build out its speciality insurance business, and sees Beazley as a highly complementary fit given its expertise in cyber, marine, aviation and space, and fine art insurance.
($1 = 0.7450 pounds)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
A takeover bid is an offer to purchase some or all of shareholders' shares in a corporation, often at a premium over the current market price, to gain control of the company.
In finance, a premium refers to the amount by which an offer exceeds the current market price of a security, often used in the context of takeover bids.
Equity value represents the total value of a company's shares outstanding, calculated by multiplying the share price by the total number of shares issued.
A specialty insurer focuses on providing insurance coverage for specific industries or types of risks, such as cyber, marine, or aviation insurance.
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