IPC Holdings Ltd.'s interim chief executive officer John Weale said yesterday that the Bermuda reinsurer has received several proposals of interest beside the takeover bids tabled by Validus Holdings Ltd. and Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Ltd.

Chief financial officer Mr. Weale started as interim CEO on July 1 and succeeds long-standing CEO Jim Bryce, who retired at the end of June.

He told The Royal Gazette he had been pleasantly surprised by the number of suitors the 16-year-old company had attracted.

Mr. Weale added that company's 31 staff had stuck with IPC during a tumultuous period in which their futures had been thrown into doubt.

IPC's July renewal business had been slightly impacted by the uncertainty surrounding the company's future, Mr. Weale said, adding that he had seen a double-digit rise in North American property insurance rates.

IPC is at the centre of a bidding war after a plan to merge with another another Bermuda company, Max Capital Group Ltd., was voted down by IPC shareholders on June 12.

Validus and Flagstone have tabled their share-and-cash bids and IPC is due to name the date for a special shareholders meeting after Validus mustered sufficient requisitions from IPC shareholders to necessitate it. Mr. Weale said no date had been set for the meeting.

"What we have found gratifying is that there has been such a high level of interest in a property-catastrophe reinsurer just as we are entering the hurricane season," Mr. Weale said. "We were not expecting as much interest as we have have seen.

"We have had a number of proposals of interest, apart from those which have been made public."

Validus, Flagstone and Max are all Bermuda companies, and the additional interest in recent weeks had come from "both inside Bermuda and elsewhere", Mr. Weale said.

Although the interest reflected well on the company's success in deploying the monoline, property-catastrophe model that it has stuck with since being formed in 1993 to meet demand for capacity in the wake of the previous year's Hurricane Andrew, Mr. Weale said uncertainty was taking its toll.

The situation had led to "a small reduction in business from a couple of clients, as well as some additional terms and conditions", he added.

Overall, July renewals have gone well for IPC, however. "The relationships we have built with clients and brokers over 16 years have stood us in good stead," Mr. Weale said. IPC has seen rate increases in a range of 10 to 15 percent for North American renewals, Mr. Weale said, while renewals elsewhere had been generally flat.

For IPC staff, the uncertainty over who will be the successful bidder means their jobs hang in the balance. Max had said its merger plans did not include job cuts at IPC. The situation may be different in the cases of Class of 2005 reinsurers Flagstone and Validus, as they both have an emphasis on property-catastrophe reinsurance. A greater overlap in business type between merger partners generally increases the likelihood of job cuts.

Mr. Weale expressed no opinion on the merits of offers on the table, but said IPC's staff had stood up well to the uncertainty.

"Uncertainty is never a good thing and it has had its impact on morale," Mr. Weale said. "We're trying our best to keep staff informed about what's going on.

"At this point, we can't make any assurances and it's unsettling for all of us."

The company put some retention incentives in place at the start of the year as it started its efforts to find a suitable merger partner and no staff member has left since then - apart from Mr. Bryce, who retired after 16 years of leading the reinsurer.

"Jim is continuing for six months in a consulting role and that certainly makes my life easier and provides some continuity," Mr. Weale said.

Mr. Weale, the Island's senior rugby referee, took over as interim CEO 13 years to the day after he joined the company as CFO.

Before joining IPC, Mr. Weale spent over 13 years with American International Company Ltd., AIG's Bermuda-based management company, serving in a variety of positions, the last being vice-president, Offshore Management Services.

Flagstone is offering 2.638 shares of its stock plus $5.50 in cash for each IPC share. Validus is offering 1.1234 Validus shares, plus $3.75 in cash, for each IPC shares.

Merger and acquisition activity is showing signs of increasing in the industry as reinsurers seek to boost their size and capital base.

Earlier this week, PartnerRe agreed to acquire Paris Re in a deal which will make the comapny the fourth biggest reinsurer in the world.