Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. has entered into an accelerated share repurchase program with Goldman Sachs & Co. to buy back $200 million of its shares.

A majority of the shares will be received and cancelled within the current quarter.

Based on Aspen's closing share price on January 4, 2010, the $200 million share repurchase represents approximately 9.3 percent of the company's total market capitalisation.

Richard Houghton, chief financial officer of Aspen, said: "The accelerated share repurchase program we have announced today reflects our continued commitment to active capital management."