International Ltd. to buy subsidiary Logic Communications Ltd., The Royal Gazette has learned.

Logic provides data communications and consultancy on the Island. The company also provides Internet service. BTC and Logic had no comment yesterday.

As previously reported in The Royal Gazette , BTC has also been in discussions with TeleBermuda International Ltd. regarding provision of services, although those talks currently do not involve any link up or equity stakes.

HEALTH CARE CAPTIVES GAIN APPEAL BUC Health care captives gain appeal Greater participation by the health-care industry and mid-sized companies in the alternative risk transfer market -- mainly through captives and rent-a-captive facilities -- is partly responsible for the continued growth of the sector, according to ratings agency A.M. Best Co.

The result is insurers and reinsurers, including those in Bermuda, have taken an interest in making money by catering to the market. Bermuda companies, however, are only now realising the value in courting the health care industry, a market they previously ignored until now.

"Everybody wants a piece of the alternative risk transfer market these days -- even the insurers and reinsurers the market was created to circumvent,'' according to an article in the February property and casualty edition of Best's Review. "With the number of players increasing, dozens of new financial and risk management arrangements are being tailored for the alternative market.'' Best identifies the health-care industry and mid-sized companies which want to share administrative costs through rent-a-captive facilities as two trends the industry wants to cash in on.

"Competition for health-care captives is growing,'' Best states. "In the early days of the alternative market, Bermuda didn't want that business, but it was welcomed in the Cayman Islands. Today, Bermuda is actively courting health-care captives.'' The result is most major insurers and reinsurers have set up separate entities to serve captive insurers, self-insurance polls and risk-retention groups -- a market now accounting for over one-third of insurance premiums.

MURAD TO HEAD NEW ACE DIVISION APP Murad to head new ACE division ACE Limited announced yesterday the appointment of John Murad as Executive Vice President of a new specialty insurance division that is being established at ACE USA.

ACE USA, formerly the Westchester Specialty Group, Inc. was acquired by ACE last month. The company has offices in Atlanta, San Francisco and Los Angeles and is a specialty property and casualty insurer.

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of ACE Limited Brian Duperreault said that Mr. Murad has been involved in the insurance and reinsurance industry for over 25 years.

Dennis Reding said that Mr. Murad will be establishing a new division within ACE USA focusing on specialty programmes that prove a broad range of commercial products written through Managing General Agents and brokers.