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Omega board focused on finding a partner, says director

Omega Insurance Holdings: Seeking a suitor

Omega Insurance Holdings directors are fed up with the speculation swirling around the company’s future and remain focused on finding partners who can take the company forward.That is the view of Robin Spencer-Arscott, a board member of the Bermuda-based insurer, who spoke with The Royal Gazette after rumours of a boardroom coup surfaced in the UK media.The Daily Telegraph on Saturday reported that John Robinson, who cofounded the company in 1979 and still owns around seven percent of its shares, has held talks with Fund Management Group (FMG), a specialist investor in “insurance-related business”.According to the London paper, FMG hopes to build a 15 percent stake in Omega and instigate an overhaul of its executive team, including the removal of Richard Pexton as chief executive.“As a board member, I would say that all of us are pulling in the same direction,” Mr Spencer-Arscott said in an interview. “We need to find the right people to work with to turn this company around, whether through a merger, association, or alliance.“We are working hard to achieve that and now is not the time for old-timers to get in the way of that process.“We’ve had many conference calls over the past few weeks and we’re all trying to achieve the same thing and to keep the shareholders happy.”According to Bloomberg data, Invesco owns a near 30-percent stake in Omega and is the largest shareholder.Mr Spencer-Arscott said Omega’s search for s suitor over the past 18 months or so had been “frustrating”.Last week, London-based insurer Canopius approached Omega’s board with a 65p a share proposal, valuing the company at £159 million. The offer was just above Omega’s closing share price on Thursday of 60.5p. The London Stock Exchange was closed for the Easter holiday in the UK on Friday and yesterday.This follows other offers for the company by Lloyd’s insurer Barbican and Haverford (Bermuda) Ltd, an investment vehicle owned by former Flagstone Re chairman Mark Byrne, as well as a previous offer from Canopius.