Pelican Ventures and J.C. Flowers Acquired Ariel Re

On 11/2/2020, Pelican Ventures (“Pelican”) and J.C. Flowers & Co. (“JCF”) announced an agreement to acquire Ariel Re from Argo Group for $30mm

Ariel Re is a leading global reinsurance franchise operating through Lloyd’s Syndicate 1910

• Writes a well-diversified catastrophe-driven portfolio with underwriting teams in London and Bermuda
  • ~£372mm of 2021 year of account capacity; focus on global property reinsurance and specialty lines
• Consistent top-decile performer at Lloyd’s due to its portfolio construction and risk analysis capabilities
  • 10yr average return on capacity of 11.3% vs. 2.6% for the Lloyd’s market
• Significant support from leading third-party capital providers
• Transaction officially closed on November 25th, 2021

Pelican is a private investment fund with a sole focus on the insurance industry

• Formed by industry veteran Jim Stanard, founder and former Chairman and CEO of RenaissanceRe

JCF is a private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry

• Founded in 1998, the firm has invested more than $16bn of capital across 56 portfolio companies

Ryan Mather, Ariel Re’s former CEO, returned to run the business and manage underwriting

• Ryan Mather was CEO of Ariel Re from 2016 to early 2020 and at Ariel Re since formation in 2005
• Jim Stanard is now Non-Executive Chairman
• Jayant Khadilkar is now a Board Member and Advisor for Risk Management, Analytics and Technology

TCMA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Pelican and JCF

• Introduced key principals to transaction and each other including Pelican, JCF, and Ryan Mather
• Assisted with financial modeling and valuation analysis
• Assisted in multiple capital raising efforts (debt, Letter of Credit, third-party Funds at Lloyd’s)
• Managed an organized and efficient due diligence process
• Assisted in the negotiation of final transaction terms and conditions
• Provided objective advice and acting as a confidant to the buyer throughout the process