offering of 3,400,000 common shares were priced at $24.50 per share, it was announced yesterday.

They are for sale by an underwriting group led by Smith Barney. The $83.3 million worth of stock is being distributed in two offers, some 80 percent in the US and Canada and the remaining 20 percent in other international markets, according to a preliminary prospectus.

The trade date was two days ago, with settlement scheduled for next week Monday. The selling shareholders have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional 510,000 shares to cover over-allotments.

Behind lead manager Smith Barney, are Lazard Freres & Co. LLC, and Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated, and in Europe, Smith Barney Inc., Lazard Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley & Co. International.

The common shares hitting the market are from original shareholders of the company. The firm will receive no proceeds from the sale. The expenses related to the offerings include certain expenses incurred by the selling shareholders, and are estimated at about $550,000.

The gross spread is $1.22.5, while the selling concession is 73 cents. The management fee was 24 cents and the underwriting fee was 25.5 cents. The amount per share allocated to firms that are not members of the selling group was 10 cents.

The prospectus indicates that at the completion of the offers, founding shareholders will retain about 55 percent of the common shares and about 27 percent of the capital stock.

It would mean that, if they acted en bloc, they would be able to control most important decisions for the company, including the election of directors and a merger or sale of the company.

The company said that lines of business it has written outside of property catastrophe will become a larger portion of their book of business, helping to moderate the volatility of its catastrophe exposures.

The company has been successful in creating a diverse portfolio of risks around the world.

At September 30, LaSalle Re had total shareholders' equity of $486.9 million (1995: $400.8 million). It achieved annualised returns on average combined equity of 29.2 percent and 26.6 percent, respectively and combined ratios of 46 percent and 52.6 percent, respectively for the year 1996 and 1995.

The company's capital management strategy is to focus on balancing capital levels with aggregate exposures while seeking to achieve average annualised returns on shareholders' equity of 20-25 percent, over time.

In October, the firm adopted a dividend policy which seeks to distribute 50-60 percent of the company's net income from the prior fiscal year. LaSalle Re will pay a quarterly dividend of 71 cents a share next year, starting in January.

The company is intending to repurchase $50 million worth of common shares on the open market, starting early in the new year.

LaSalle Re does not rule out the continued softness in property catastrophe rates during the coming renewal period. But even if rates decline, the company expects their net premiums written will remain relatively stable, because of the developments in other lines of business.