acquire Reliance Reinsurance Company, including a team of up to 50 professionals and staff.

The team of insurance professional formerly managed Reliance Reinsurance Corp., a subsidiary of Reliance Insurance Company.

No price has been revealed for the transaction, but the new subsidiary formed by the deal, Overseas Partners US Reinsurance Company, will have initial capital of $275 million.

The deal does not involve the assumption of any liabilities previously underwritten by Reliance Re, RIC or any of its affiliates.

The team of reinsurance professionals, located in Philadelphia, specialises in property and casualty treaty, casualty facultative, and agricultural reinsurance.

The team includes existing senior management and will be led by Edward Stanco.

The hiring of this group more than doubles OPL's existing reinsurance staff, all of whom are currently located in Bermuda.

The acquisition, completed yesterday, positions OPL in the United States at a time of improving conditions in the insurance and reinsurance markets.

Reliance Re has the authority to write reinsurance in all 50 states and Washington DC, as well as insurance in over 40 states.

The merger complements OPL's core business lines of accident and health, workers compensation, aviation, financial reinsurance and property catastrophe.

Mary Hennessy, OPL's president and chief executive officer said: "We have a five-year plan to transform OPL into one of the world's best and most profitable specialty reinsurance companies and the acquisition of Reliance Re represents an essential component in our strategy.

OPL completes Reliance merger The acquisition gives us a US platform with no existing liabilities and a management team and professional staff with recognised technical expertise who have a proven track record in the US reinsurance and insurance markets.'' OPL, based in Bermuda, is one of the world's largest reinsurance companies with total assets and members' equity at June 30, 2000 of $5 billion and $2 billion respectively.

OPL, with its primary reinsurance subsidiary, Overseas Partners Re Ltd.

(OPRe), specialises in providing quality reinsurance solutions to its business partners. It has developed and expanded our reinsurance business to meet the changing demands of the reinsurance community.

OPL provides accident & health, automobile, aviation, marine, property, workers' compensation and financial classes of reinsurance business. Prior to October 1, 1999 OPL also provided shipper's risk reinsurance.

OPL has two other reinsurance subsidiaries, Overseas Partners Cat Ltd. (OPCat) and Overseas Partners Assurance Ltd (OPAL).

OPL, through its subsidiaries, currently owns and manages a convention hotel and five major Class A office buildings in Atlanta, Boston and Chicago.