Liberty Mutual to Buy 51% Stake in Irish Insurer Quinn

Liberty Mutual has agreed to buy a 51 percent stake in Ireland's Quinn Insurance, which was put into administration last year.

Published on April 29, 2011

Quinn Insurance was put into administration after the financial regulator expressed concern about the firm's ability to cover its liabilities. The company is a major debtor of scandal-hit Anglo Irish Bank, which will retain a minority shareholding in the new firm.

Liberty will invest 102 million euros to secure 51 percent in a new joint venture built from Quinn Insurance assets, the Liberty Mutual Direct Insurance Company. The administrators will invest 98 million euros and maintain a 24.5 percent stake. Anglo Irish will also take a 24.5 percent stake and will release assets it held as collateral.

Quinn Insurance also reported a 2009 full-year loss of 706 million euros. The administrator estimated this would lead to a call of 600 million euros on Ireland's insurance compensation fund, a levy to be imposed on the country's non-life insurance companies.