Alterra launches $210m sidecar
Bermuda-based reinsurer Alterra has officially announced the formation of New Point V Ltd, a new sidecar backed by $210 million in capital.And, there was also good news for Alterra as ratings agency A.M. Best raised the company’s outlook to stable from negative and affirmed its financial strength rating of “A”.Alterra’s new vehicle is an addition to its series of sidecars established to create additional capacity for the property catastrophe collateralised reinsurance market.New Point V is the company’s second vehicle in a year, following the more than $200 million New Point IV transaction. Both ventures are sponsored in partnership with Stone Point Capital LLC through its private equity fund, Trident V.Marty Becker, Alterra’s president and CEO, stated: “We are pleased to continue our support of the collateralised retrocessional market with New Point V and are glad to be partnering again with industry experts like Stone Point. With New Point V, we believe we remain well positioned to serve our clients’ needs as they seek property catastrophe reinsurance.”Stone Point Capital is a global private equity company that serves as the manager of the Trident Funds, which have raised more than $9 billion in committed capital to make investments in the financial services sector.According to A.M. Best, the revised outlook for Alterra and its subsidiaries reflects the stable execution of the company’s business plan and strategy since its formation from the merger of Max Capital Group Ltd. and Harbor Point Limited in 2010.“In August 2011, A.M. Best viewed the departure of a key executive as a material change in the management structure, which could have potentially introduced uncertainty to the organisation,” the ratings company said in a statement. “A.M. Best has since continued to monitor Alterra and has gained a level of comfort with the current management structure and its core strategy.”