WASHINGTON (Dow Jones/AP) — Underwriters for Bermuda-based Validus Holdings Ltd. yesterday increased the size of the reinsurance company's pending initial public offering to $350 million from $200 million.Validus originally filed its $200 million IPO in mid-January.

Details about the number of shares to be sold and estimated price range for the IPO weren't disclosed in an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Some of the shares will be offered by selling stockholders, yesterday's SEC filing said. Bermuda-based Validus is a specialised provider of reinsurance, conducting its operations world-wide through its wholly owned Validus Reinsurance Ltd. unit.

Validus said it plans to use net proceeds from the IPO to fund a portion of the cash purchase price for its acquisition of Talbot Holdings Ltd. It intends to use the remainder of the proceeds to further capitalise Validus Re to support the future growth of its reinsurance operations and for general corporate purposes, the filing said.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co. were listed as underwriters for the IPO. For the three months ended March 31, Validus reported net income of $56.7 million, up from $14.7 million in the 2006 comparable period. At the same time, the company's revenue jumped to $133 million from $52.9 million, the filing said.

Validus said its common stock has been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol VR.

The $350 million valuation for the IPO was estimated solely for calculating the registration fee, according to yesterday's SEC filing.