Around half of the 37 Bermuda-based employees of Platinum Specialty Underwriters Holdings Ltd have accepted redundancy packages after the reinsurer was bought out by RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd, The Royal Gazette understands, while the other half accepted job offers from RenRe.

Of the 37, who worked in Platinum’s offices in Waterloo House, about two-thirds were offered either permanent or temporary positions by RenRe. The offers of temporary roles were offered on a three- to 15-month basis to help with the integration process, with the possibility that some of those roles could become permanent.

It is understood that RenRe has also held off filling vacancies in its Bermuda office to allow Platinum staff the opportunity to fill them.

The acquisition deal, first made public last November, closed today.

RenRe chief executive officer Kevin O’Donnell told The Royal Gazette: “Ultimately, this acquisition strengthens the RenaissanceRe franchise and our local presence on the Island. Our headquarters remain in Bermuda and we are more committed than ever to our community.

“Today, through the combining of RenaissanceRe and Platinum, we are able to offer greater underwriter expertise, more product lines and enhanced capital solutions to both existing and new clients. As separate companies, we each had a proud heritage going back many years of providing outstanding service to clients. That focus will continue to underpin all that we do going forward.”

The completion of the acquisition follows the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals and approval of the transaction by Platinum shareholders, which was obtained at a special general meeting of Platinum shareholders held last week.

Effective as of market close yesterday, Platinum shares will cease trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Other mergers in the pipeline affecting the Bermuda insurance market are XL Group’s acquisition of Catlin Group and the “merger of equals” involving Axis Capital Holdings and ParterRe.

Jobs are likely to go in both of these cases too, as the combined companies seek to reduce expenses by streamlining operations in areas of overlap.

Executives from XL, as well as ParterRe and Axis, have said they are seeking savings of $200 million per year from their combinations. Some savings will come from posts made redundant, while there will also be infrastructure savings, relating to office space and IT systems, for example.

Several reinsurance executives have said they expect to see more mergers activity in the industry as reinsurers respond to falling rates for reinsurance in the face of competition from an influx of “third-party” capital in the form of insurance-linked securities such as catastrophe bonds.