Bermuda company Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. made history yesterday by being one of two companies to break the longest period between initial public offerings (IPO) in 26 years.

Montpelier and a real estate investment company were the first companies to go to market since August 14, according to a Reuters news report yesterday.

That eight week drought in company's listing on the markets was cited by the news agency as the longest period in 26 years. The lacklustre IPO landscape has seen numerous companies back off or delay plans to go public - including another Bermuda reinsurer, newly incorporated Platinum Underwriters Holdings.

The company's plans to launch on the New York Stock Exchange were announced earlier this year and were initially set to take place in June. But the IPO was delayed, despite Platinum's strong business prospects, when the company decided its chances of a successful IPO were dicey against a backdrop of poor investor confidence.

The company is however expected to go public some time this month.

Meanwhile, Montpelier's common shares began trading yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange - under the symbol MRH - with 9.52 million shares being priced at the low end of estimates, $20 per share.

Montpelier issued a press statement yesterday giving the basic details of the IPO but declined to comment further on the matter, citing US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations.

A company spokesperson told The Royal Gazette the company was in its "quiet period" and would not be making comment or giving interviews for the next few weeks. The company did say that the IPO was expected to close on October 15 with net proceeds expected to be just under $175 million. Montpelier previously disclosed that the proceeds from the IPO would go to increase capital and underwriting capacity.

The company had initially said it hoped to raise up to $250 million with its IPO. Montpelier, as one of Bermuda's newest reinsurance ventures, first announced its plans to go public in the Spring after it posted $203.7 million in gross premiums written for its first full quarter of operation through the period ended March 31, 2001.

Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Montpelier Re incorporated on the Island on November 14, 2001 and commenced operations from December 16. It was set up by the White Mountains Insurance Group, in response to the hardening insurance market and void in capacity after the September 11 terrorist attacks, with initial capitalisation of about $1 billion.

Despite its status as one of the new kids on the block, Montpelier has some heavyweight insurance veterans at its helm. Its CEO and chief underwriting officer is Anthony Taylor, a veteran of the Lloyd's of London market.

Mr. Taylor was formerly deputy chairman of Wellington Underwriting, a publicly traded Lloyd's underwriting vehicle and has 25 years of experience in the world wide reinsurance business.

And Montpelier's chairman is John (Jack) Byrne, a legend in the industry with over 50 years experience and honoured earlier this year as Insurance Leader of the Year. The closing price of Montpelier's stock was $23.5. It traded under the symbol MRH.