Ironshore files for IPO
NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — Ironshore Inc, the insurer purchased by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International last year, has filed for an initial public offering in the US.
The company filed with an initial offering size of $100 million, an amount used to calculate fees that will change. Fosun will receive all of the proceeds from the offering, the filing shows.
In December, ratings firm AM Best announced a review of Ironshore, and in June assigned a negative outlook on the company because of “the drag related to the credit profile and high debt leverage measures of Ironshore’s ultimate parent.” For insurance companies, downgrades can make it harder to win customers.
Ironshore provides specialty commercial insurance coverage, protecting policyholders against environmental and political risks and offering liability coverage to corporate executives and healthcare providers.
The company previously filed to go public in 2014. Last year, Fosun — the investment arm of China’s biggest closely held conglomerate, led by billionaire chairman Guo Guangchang — announced its plans for a $1.84 billion merger with Ironshore by buying up the shares it didn’t already own.
Fosun also considered pursuing a sale of Ironshore, a person familiar with the matter said earlier this year. In June, the parent company submitted an application seeking approval for a proposed spin-off and US listing of the business, according to a filing in Hong Kong.
Ironshore was founded in December 2006 with more than $1 billion in private equity backing. Two years later, chief executive officer Kevin Kelley and president Shaun Kelly joined the property-and-casualty insurer from American International Group.