Bermuda-based White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. has bought up the Sirius Insurance Group, a Swedish-based insurance and reinsurance organisation from the ABB Group.

The purchase, at a price of 3.22 billion Swedish kroner (approximately $425 million), was said to be subject to a kronor-for-kronor adjustment to the extent that the total tangible shareholders? equity value of the acquired companies as of December 31, 2003 is greater or less than SEK3.566 billion (approximately $470 million).

The principal Sirius International Group companies are Sirius International Insurance Corporation, Sirius America Insurance Company and Scandinavian Reinsurance Company Ltd.

The acquisition could be a healthy boost for White Mountains? business as Sirius International, a Stockholm-based reinsurance company, is the largest reinsurance company in Scandinavia and has offices in Stockholm, London, Hamburg, Zurich, Belgium, and Singapore.

Sirius International wrote approximately $400 million in net premiums in 2002. The company focuses mainly on property and other short-tailed lines and no longer writes financial insurance products. Sirius America, a US insurer focused on primary insurance programs since 2000, wrote $96 million of net premiums in 2002. Scandinavian Re is a Bermuda-based finite reinsurer that is in runoff.

CEO Ray Barrette, in a press statement released yesterday, said: ?This acquisition leverages all the strengths of the White Mountains organisation. We delivered a clean exit from the business to ABB, we were able to do so quickly, we are adding a nice business to our family of property/casualty insurance and reinsurance companies and the transaction adds significant value for our shareholders,

?Sirius? management has focused on property and other short-tailed lines of business, allowing them to avoid most of the legacy issues that other international reinsurance companies are facing today. This is an outstanding team that shares White Mountains? core belief that underwriting comes first,? he added.

White Mountains expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2004. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.