American Financial Group has reached a deal to unload Lloyd’s insurer Neon for an undisclosed price.
RiverStone Holdings Lt. is the buyer in a transaction that will acquire from AFG GAI Holding Bermuda and its subsidiaries – the legal entities that own Neon. Plans call for closing the deal in the 2020 fourth quarter, pending regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
The agreement is designed to complete American Financial Group’s exit from the Lloyd’s of London insurance marketplace, a planned move it announced in January 2020.
AFG was only part of Lloyd’s for about 12 years, after it acquired Neon Underwriting Ltd. (formerly Marketform) in 2008 for $75 million. At the time of its announcement to leave Lloyd’s, AFG said that Neon/Marketform hadn’t met profitability objectives since the acquisition. As well, American Financial Group earlier this year began a process to place its Lloyd’s subsidiaries into runoff, including Neon.
“The exit allows us to provide continued focus on our other Specialty P&C businesses and enables us to redeploy capital, increase earnings and returns, and create long-term value for our shareholders,” AFG Co-Chief Executive Officer Carl Lindner III said in prepared remarks.
American Financial Group is an insurance holding company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company booked $70 billion in assets as of June 30, 2020.
