The board of Bermuda-based, American Safety Insurance Holdings, has indicated that the company is exploring “strategic alternatives, including a potential sale of the company”.The insurer has turned to Bank of America Merrill Lynch to advise on its evaluation and has indicated that no further statements will be made by the company “until a definitive agreement has been reached, or until the process of exploring strategic alternatives has ended”.The news comes just one week after Bermuda-based run-off buyer Catalina Holdings built a 6 percent stake in the insurer as it fired a first shot in a possible takeover attempt.Catalina spent $11 million purchasing some 548,000 shares of the NYSE-listed company a regulatory filing revealed.For 25 years, American Safety Insurance Holdings, has offered solutions outside the US in the reinsurance and alternative risk markets through its subsidiaries, American Safety Reinsurance and American Safety Assurance; and in the US for specialty risks and alternative risk markets through its programme administrator, American Safety Insurance Services, and insurance company subsidiaries and affiliates, American Safety Casualty Insurance Company, American Safety Indemnity Company, American Safety Risk Retention Group and American Safety Assurance (Vermont).ASI’s insurance subsidiaries and affiliates are rated “A” (Excellent) IX by AM Best.