Watford Holdings Ltd has announced completion of the purchase of Axeria IARD, a property and casualty insurance company based in France.

Watford, the parent company of Bermudian-headquartered global specialty re/insurer Watford Re Ltd, said it has acquired 100 per cent of the capital stock of Axeria IARD from the APRIL Group.

Jon Levy, chief executive officer of Watford, said: “We are pleased to add Axeria to our insurance business in Europe and look forward to working with them to carry out our development in the region.

“Our objective is to leverage our large capital base and Axeria’s experienced team to strengthen existing business relationships and to build new ones.”

Watford said Axeria is headquartered in Lyon, with branch offices in Lille and Bordeaux and is active in the French and European Union commercial property and casualty insurance market with in-force gross premiums written of approximately €140 million.