Corp.'s property and casualty business, Bermuda-based ACE Ltd. on Friday unveiled the new look of the much larger company.

In an interview with The Royal Gazette , ACE chairman, president and chief executive officer Brian Duperreault hailed the acquisition as historic for the company and for Bermuda.

Bermuda, he emphasised, still remains the headquarters, even though the larger chunk of ACE now resides in the US. The company's international operations acquired from CIGNA will also be run out of Philadelphia.

Asked how ACE would manage the various operations Mr. Duperreault said he had assembled a "great'' management team.

"We tend to run our organisation with a great deal of field autonomy,'' Mr.

Duperreault said by telephone from Philadelphia. "This is the way we ran this company before the CIGNA acquisition and this is the way we will continue to run this company.'' ACE grows from a company with $8.9 billion in assets to one with total assets of $30 billion and with operating subsidiaries in 50 countries. Mr.

Duperreault said the acquisition will bring diversity and reach to ACE's offerings on a global scale.

He said the acquisition put the company where management wanted it to be on a global scale. He said no other acquisition targets were being considered. Any future ones would be made as part of a tactical strategy and on a country specific basis or through a combination with another company.

In making the announcement he also said ACE plans to make CIGNA's operations more efficient through outsourcing its information technology functions to IBM Global Services and cutting 15 percent of the remaining staff.

ACE estimates the cost saving at about $195 million, which includes $45 million in IT costs.

With the CIGNA acquisition ACE currently has about 6,000 employees in the US and 3,300 elsewhere, including Bermuda. About 350 employees will be transferred to IBM.

ACE Ltd. will now be made up of ACE INA Holdings, ACE Bermuda, Tempest Re, and ACE Global Markets. ACE INA, the largest chunk of the ACE operations, will hold the company's international operations which includes ACE USA and ACE International.

Dominic Frederico, who headed the Bermuda operations, becomes ACE INA's chairman, president and chief executive officer. The deputy chairman is John Charman, who joined ACE as chief executive officer of ACE Global Markets in 1998 following the acquisition of Tarquin Plc by ACE Ltd.

ACE stated that Mr. Charman's role on the board will be to coordinate the activities of ACE's global operations.

ACE USA is the former Westchester Specialty group operations acquired by ACE in 1998 and the US property and casualty operations taken over from CIGNA.

Dennis Reding will remain as ACE USA president and chief executive officer.

ACE International holds the international property and casualty, accident and health business acquired from CIGNA and is headed by Kingsley Schubert, president and chief executive officer.

Mr. Schubert was president of CIGNA International, the global operating business of CIGNA Corp. ACE International will be located in Philadelphia.

The company is divided into London-based ACE Europe, Tokyo-based ACE Far East, Singapore-based ACE Asia Pacific, and ACE Latin America.

ACE Bermuda includes ACE European Markets and provides high-level excess liability insurance, directors and officers liability insurance and excess property insurance worldwide.

Gary Schmalzriedt will become president and chief executive officer of ACE Bermuda on August 1. He was previously chairman and chief executive officer of CIGNA Insurance Company of Europe.

ACE Ltd.

Tempest Re, which includes the 1998 acquisition of CAT Ltd., is the property reinsurance arm of ACE. John Engestrom was appointed president and chief executive officer of Tempest earlier this year. He was previously chief executive officer of Liberty Re in London.

ACE Global Markets is the group's Lloyd's of London arm. The chairman is William Loschert and the chief executive officer is Mr. Charman.

ACE is financing the deal with $1.025 billion in available cash, $400 million from a hybrid trust preferred security and the remainder with the issuing of commercial paper.

ACE stated that the commercial paper will be replaced with a combination of new equity, senior debt and trust preferred securities.

The company has also put in place its reinsurance arrangement with a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary which will provide $1.25 billion in protection for CIGNA's run-off operations and certain asbestos and environmental exposures.

Brian Duperreault, chairman, president and CEO of ACE Ltd.

Dominic Frederico, chairman, president, and CEO of ACE INA Gary Schmalzriedt, president and CEO of ACE Bermuda Kingsley Schubert, president and CEO of ACE International Dennis Reding, president and CEO of ACE USA Flying high: The New York Stock Exchange flies the Bermuda flag alongside the stars and stripes on Friday to mark ACE Ltd.'s expansion with its takeover of CIGNA's international businesses.