Sompo to Acquire Aspen for $3.5 Billion

Sompo Holdings, Inc. (“Sompo” or the “Company”) (Stock Code: 8630, TSE Prime Market) announced today that a wholly owned subsidiary of Sompo International Holdings Ltd. (“SIH”), has entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which it will acquire 100% of the issued Class A ordinary shares of Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (“Aspen”) (NYSE: AHL) for $37.50 per share in cash. This represents aggregate consideration of approximately $3.5 billion. Aspen brings a leading specialty insurance and reinsurance franchise with more than $4.6 billion in annual gross written premiums centered around specialty product lines and bespoke solutions.

Mikio Okumura, Sompo Group CEO, said, “In pursuit of realizing Sompo’s Purpose, we have been striving to enhance further resilience and to promote ‘Connect and Be Connected.’ To accelerate capital circulation management and collaboration across the Sompo Group, we established Sompo P&C and appointed James Shea as its CEO. This transaction is an excellent example of those initiatives in action.

“I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the successful realization of this transaction, made possible through the full utilization of the diverse capabilities and market intelligence of the SIH executive team, Jim’s leadership, and the close collaboration with Sompo Holdings.”

James Shea, CEO of Sompo P&C, said “Strategic acquisitions have been a key part of our growth plan to build a robust and diversified global P&C platform, and Aspen represents an excellent opportunity at the right time in the market cycle. We look forward to welcoming the team from Aspen as we bring our organizations together, recognizing that the property/casualty market continues to value platforms that can underwrite and manage capital and risk at scale – and with exceptional skill.”

Mark Cloutier, Aspen Group Executive Chairman and Group CEO, said, “Sompo is a highly regarded brand and through this process it has become clear that they represent a long-term owner for Aspen that respects our business and shares our values and ethos. This transaction represents an excellent outcome for Aspen and our shareholders, while Sompo’s scale and capital strength will create significant opportunities for our customers, trading partners and colleagues. The significant 35.6% premium to our unaffected share price reflects the quality Sompo sees in our team, the depth of the Group’s distribution relationships and the strength of the franchise that we have built across insurance, reinsurance and Aspen Capital Markets. We look forward to sharing more details as we work towards completion, while maintaining our focus on continuing to deliver great service and products for our customers.”