Bermuda-based reinsurer Paris Re has registered with the French AMF stock market authority in a first step towards a possible $2 billion flotation later this year.

"Paris Re's shares are expected to be admitted to trading on the Eurolist by Euronext Paris by the end of 2007, subject to the AMF's approval of the prospectus and depending on market conditions," Paris Re said in a statement yesterday.

Paris Re had shareholder equity of around $2.1 billion at the end of December 2006. Last year, it wrote $1.55 billion of gross premiums on a pro forma basis.

The reinsurer, which was incorporated in November last year, took over the reinsurance activities of French insurer AXA the following month.

The company's main investor is private equity company Stone Point Capital LLC. Other private equity firms with stakes in Paris Re include Hellman & Friedman, Vestar Capital Partners and Crestview Capital Partners.

Triomphe Re, another Bermuda company, provides quota share reinsurance to Paris Re.