XL Group Plc said it would purchase underwriter Catlin Group Ltd for about 2.79 billion pounds ($4.22 billion), increasing the Dublin-based insurer's share of business written in the Lloyd's of London market to nearly 10 percent.The deal is the latest in a string of European insurance mergers as the region's 5,000 underwriters face stricter capital rules. Mergers usually make it easier for companies to cut expenses relative to assets, helping them to raise capital."We are forecasting that we will, at a minimum, have about $200 million in cost savings across the two organisations when they are combined," XL Chief Executive Mike McGavick, who will head XL Catlin, said in an interview."That's about 10 percent of the combined expenses of the company," he added.
XL Group plc, through its subsidiaries, is a global insurance and reinsurance company engaged in providing property, casualty and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises on a worldwide basis. Shares of XL traded higher by 1.16% or $0.41/share to $35.83. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $27.79 and as high as $36.35. On average, 2402810 shares of XL exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 3402949.
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