Calera Capital Announces Additional Investment in Ironshore Inc.

Calera Capital Announces Additional Investment in Ironshore Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Calera Capital, a leading middle-market private equity firm, today announced that it has agreed to invest an additional $50 million in Ironshore Inc. as part of a $300 million equity financing to support the continued expansion of Ironshore’s specialty insurance business.

Calera Capital served as a lead investor in Ironshore’s initial $1 billion capitalization in December 2006 in partnership with Irving Place Capital, Corporate Partners, TowerBrook Capital Partners and Greenhill Capital Partners. This additional subscription brings the total invested in Ironshore by Calera and its co-investors to approximately $250 million.

Calera will be joined in this equity raise by new investors, GTCR Golder Rauner LLC and Wellington Management, as well as a number of existing shareholders. The transaction is subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

During its first two years of operations, Ironshore has achieved its goal of creating a strong global specialty insurance platform. The Company has established a market presence in Bermuda, the U.S. and London and built a diversified book of business across over 15 property and casualty lines. At the end of last year, the Company enhanced this solid platform with the hiring of Kevin Kelley, the former CEO of AIG’s highly successful Lexington Insurance subsidiary. Under Kevin’s leadership, Ironshore has been able to continue to attract top underwriting talent, driving expansion into new lines including environmental, excess casualty, U.S. casualty and program business.

“We have built a diversified platform with experienced and well-established underwriting teams across a variety of specialty property and casualty classes,” said Kevin Kelley, chief executive officer of Ironshore. “We have tremendous momentum in the market and this additional capital will allow us to continue to expand our position with our clients. We see significant dislocations in selected segments of the market which will enable us to quickly and profitably deploy the capital.”

Mr. Kelley noted, “Calera has been a strong and supportive partner to management and we look forward to continuing to work with Calera and other investors as we further build the business.”

Mark Williamson, a managing partner at Calera, commented, “We are enthusiastic about committing additional capital behind a strong management team and business platform that we know well and in which we have great confidence. With the new capital in place, Ironshore is uniquely positioned to accelerate its growth plan and capture sustainable, profitable business.”

Merrill Lynch & Co. and Aon Benfield Securities, Inc. acted as placement agents for Ironshore, and Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP provided legal counsel.

About Ironshore

Ironshore provides broker-sourced specialty commercial property and casualty coverages for risks located throughout the world. Through its platform in Bermuda, including Iron-Starr Excess, Ironshore writes property and excess casualty insurance for commercial risks. Ironshore’s U.S. operations write commercial property and casualty insurance, including a variety of coverages in the Management & Professional Liability, Healthcare Liability, Construction, Energy Property and Environmental specialty areas. Specialty coverages are underwritten at Lloyd’s through Ironshore’s Pembroke Syndicate 4000. The Ironshore group of insurance companies is rated A- (Excellent) by A.M. Best with a Financial Size Category of Class XI. Syndicate 4000 operates within Lloyd’s where the market rating is A (Excellent) by A.M. Best and A+ (Strong) from both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. For more information, please visit www.ironshore.com.

About Calera Capital

Founded in 1991, Calera Capital, formerly known as Fremont Partners, is a private investment partnership which has $2.8 billion of capital under management. With offices in San Francisco and Boston, Calera invests across a diverse range of industries including financial services, business services, food and consumer, healthcare, building products, and industrial manufacturing. Calera Capital makes substantial equity investments in operating companies, typically with enterprise values up to $1 billion, and seeks to build long-term sustainable value by working with management teams to implement strategic and operating initiatives. More information can be found at www.caleracapital.com.

The securities referred to above have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered under the Securities Act or under an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Michael Mandelbaum

Mandelbaum Partners

(310) 785-0810

[email protected]

Source: Calera Capital

Copyright Business Wire 2009 Calera Capital, a leading middle-market private equity firm, today announced that it has agreed to invest an additional $50 million in Ironshore Inc. as part of a $300 million equity financing to support the continued expansion of Ironshore’s specialty insurance business.