A new year and a new company structure - that's the intention of Argo Group International Holdings, the company that took shape in Bermuda earlier this year with the merging of Argonaut Group and the remnants of PXRE.

Argo Group took over the former PXRE offices in Pitts Bay Road and is now preparing to see in the new year with a new look corporate structure, affecting both its Bermuda and US operations.

Under the new structure, which was announced last Friday, all US subsidiaries of Argo will be wholly owned by one intermediate US holding company.

As such Argo will merge two intermediate Delaware holding companies, namely the Argonaut Group Incorporated, which owns the assets of the former US publicly traded company by the same name, and PXRE Corporation, which owns Connecticut domiciled carrier PXRE Reinsurance Company and will be the surviving entity in the merger.

In a statement on the newswires, it was reported that the unified US holding company will go forward under the name Argonaut Group Incorporated and continue to be led by Dale H. Pilkington as president.

For Bermuda, the intention is to amalgamate (merge) two of Argo's Bermuda domiciled insurance companies, Peleus Reinsurance and PXRE Reinsurance Limited, into one Bermuda Class 4 general business insurer.

The resulting entity will be called Peleus Reinsurance and have a surplus of around $1.3 billion.

It will continue to execute on Argo's existing business plan for its Bermuda reinsurance operations under the leadership of Andrew Carrier as president.

Mr. Carried said: "I am delighted to be joining Argo at a time when the company is upgrading its platform to support future growth and enhance profitability. I am certain these changes will be welcomed by our customers - both existing and prospective."

Argo president and chief executive officer Mark E. Watson III commented: "After a careful examination of Argo's combined holdings resulting from the merger of Argonaut Group and PXRE Group, we believe that additional opportunities for operational and financial efficiency can be unlocked through this reorganisation.

This new structure also aligns our business to better fit the needs of Argo Group as an international organisation and positions us well to prosper in today's competitive marketplace."

All the changes are to take effect as of December 31.