this month, Mid Ocean Ltd., the parent company of Mid Ocean Re, said it was now one of the world's top ten reinsurance companies in terms of capital.

This new investment came on top of the original capital of more than $360 million which was used to launch the company in November, 1993.

"We're very proud of this achievement,'' said Mid Ocean Re's president and CEO, Mr. Michael Butt.

Due to strict Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, Mid Ocean Re's officers are restricted in what they can say about the company until 21 days after the IPO, which became effective on August 4, 1993.

But there is little doubt among observers that the offering was an unqualified success.

The company's shares entered New York's NASDAQ exchange, where it is traded under the symbol MOCNF, at a price of $24.50 last Wednesday and were trading at $29.25 within a few hours.

Although the shares dropped slightly, they still ended the week at a satisfying price of $29.

In all, Mid Ocean Re offered 9.5 million shares to the public and the offering was oversubscribed.

Of the allocation, 7.6 million shares were sold in the United States, Canada and Bermuda, and 1.9 million went elsewhere.

Concurrent with the public offering, 3.167 million shares were sold directly to EXEL, Mid Ocean Re's largest shareholder.

All of the shares were offered by the company, which was left with approximately 34.8 million shares outstanding after the offering.

A team comprising Mid Ocean Re chairman Mr. Robert Newhouse, Jr., Mr. Butt, the company's senior vice-president and chief underwriting officer, Mr. Henry Keeling; and its treasurer, Mr. John Wadson, spent three weeks on the road trying to sell the stock.

In a whistle-stop tour of North America and Europe, they talked with investors in Bermuda, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paris, and 18 US cities from Los Angeles on the west coast to New York in the east.

An indication that the sales pitch was well received can be gleaned from the fact that the volume of shares being offered was increased by two million from the initial 7.5 million to 9.5 million.

Additional proof of success came when the company determined that the offering would be made at $24.50 per share -- the highest end of the price range given when the IPO was originally announced.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to support Mid Ocean Re's future growth and to increase its underwriting capacity.