HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (“Aspen” or "the
Company") (NYSE: AHL) today announces that it has entered
into an Accelerated Share Repurchase (“ASR”) agreement with Goldman,
Sachs & Co. (“Goldman”) to repurchase an aggregate of $150 million of
Aspen's ordinary shares under an accelerated share repurchase program.From January 1 through February 26, 2013, Aspen also repurchased
approximately $47 million of its ordinary shares in the open market.
Under the ASR agreement, Aspen will pay $150 million to Goldman in
exchange for Aspen’s ordinary shares. Aspen expects the substantial
majority of shares to be delivered on March 1, 2013. The total number of
shares ultimately repurchased under the agreement will be determined
based on a discount to the average daily volume-weighted average price
of Aspen’s ordinary shares during the ASR period. At settlement, Goldman
may be obligated to deliver additional shares to Aspen, or Aspen may be
obligated to make a delivery of shares or a payment of cash to Goldman,
at Aspen's election. Aspen anticipates that all repurchases under the
ASR will be completed no later than October 3, 2013.
Based on Aspen's closing share price on February 26, 2013, the ASR
program and the completed open market share repurchases from January 1,
2013 together represent approximately 8 per cent of the Company's
current total market capitalization. Aspen will have approximately $335
million remaining under its current $500 million share repurchase
program authorized by the Board of Directors and announced on February
7, 2013. The ordinary shares will be retired once repurchased.
About Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited
Aspen provides reinsurance and insurance coverage to clients in various
domestic and global markets through wholly-owned subsidiaries and
offices in Bermuda, France, Germany, Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland,
the United Kingdom and the United States. For the year ended December
31, 2012, Aspen reported $10.3 billion in total assets, $4.8 billion in
gross reserves, $3.5 billion in shareholders’ equity, and $2.6 billion
in gross written premiums. Its operating subsidiaries have been assigned
a rating of “A” (“Strong”) by Standard & Poor’s, an “A” (“Excellent”) by
A.M. Best and an “A2” (“Good”) by Moody’s Investors Service.
Application of the Safe Harbor of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements regarding
future results and events, including, without limitation, statements
regarding the Company's intention to repurchase its ordinary shares from
time to time under the Company’s share repurchase program, the timing
and amounts of repurchases, the intended use of any repurchased shares
and the source of funding for the share repurchase program.
Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate
solely to historical or current facts, and can be identified by the use
of words such as “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “project,”
“anticipate,” “seek,” “will,” “estimate,” “may,” “continue,” and similar
expressions of a future or forward-looking nature.
All forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions,
estimates and data concerning future results and events and are subject
to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are
outside Aspen’s control that could cause actual results to differ
materially from such statements, including our ability to consummate the
transactions contemplated by the terms of the accelerated share
repurchase agreement, the share price and share volumes which may impact
timing of repurchases, changes in market conditions and the impact on
our business of such factors. For a detailed description of
uncertainties and other factors that could impact the forward-looking
statements in this press release, please see the “Risk Factors” section
in Aspen’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2012, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February
26, 2013. Aspen undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
For further information
Please visit www.aspen.co
Investors
Aspen
Kerry Calaiaro, +1 646-502-1076
Senior
Vice President, Investor Relations
Kerry.Calaiaro@aspen.co
or
Media
Aspen
Steve
Colton, +44 20 7184 8337
Head of Communications
Steve.Colton@aspen.co
or
International
– Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Caroline Merrell or Jos Bieneman, +44 20
7638 9571
caroline.merrell@citigatedr.co.uk
jos.bieneman@citigatedr.co.uk
or
North
America – Abernathy MacGregor
Allyson Vento, +1 212-371-5999
amv@abmac.com
Source: Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited