The acquisition of Bermudian-based Ironshore by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International is to be scrutinised in the US on national security grounds.

The Shanghai-based company, headed by billionaire Guo Guangchang, is to appear before the US Federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which is reviewing the purchase.

In a statement posted on its website, the Chinese insurer said that both it and Ironshore “have voluntarily notified CFIUS regarding Fosun’s acquisition of Ironshore, a US-based provider of casualty and speciality lines of insurance.

“The parties have been working closely with CFIUS and providing CFIUS with all the information it needs for its considerations.”

CFIUS is an inter-agency committee authorised to review transactions that could result in control of a US business by a foreign person in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the United States,” according to the CFIUS website.

A spokeswoman for the committee declined to comment on any review of Fosun’s acquisition of Ironshore.

Fosun International bought Ironshore at the end of last year for $1.84 billion.

Ironshore was founded in Bermuda ten years ago with $1 billion in capital.

It has expanded globally since, with around 30 offices in the US, Canada, China, Britain, Ireland, Japan Singapore, Australia and Dubai and writes around $2.3 billion in premiums a year.