Canopius Bermuda’s planned merger with US insurer Tower Group will have no impact on the UK-based insurer’s Bermuda operations, Canopius said yesterday.As reported in yesterday’s business section, Tower late on Monday announced it had decided to take an option it had to combine with the Bermuda-based reinsurance businesses of Canopius. The transaction is contingent on Canopius’s acquisition of Bermuda-based Omega Insurance Holdings Ltd being completed.In a statement yesterday, Canopius said: “Following these transactions, Canopius’s Bermuda operations will remain under the leadership of Susan Patschak, chief executive.“Canopius will continue to underwrite its existing Excess Casualty and Property Treaty business via Canopius Underwriting Bermuda Limited, which operates as a Lloyd’s-approved coverholder for Syndicate 4444.“Canopius’s reinsurance carrier in Bermuda will become Omega Specialty Insurance Limited, which will be re-named under the Canopius brand.”Asked about the operational impact on her and her team, Ms Patschak told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “The bottom line is there will be no change to the Bermuda staff or its operations.”She added that Canopius Bermuda, which is based in offices on Par-la-Ville Road, employs seven staff, five of them Bermudian.Canopius executive chairman Michael Watson said: “Over the past five years we have developed a valuable franchise in Bermuda under the leadership of Susan Patschak and her team. Today’s announcement confirms the continuity of our Bermuda operations whilst progressing our strategic partnership with Tower.”Tower’s option to merge came when the company agreed to invest around $75 million to acquire a 10.7 percent stake in Canopius Group in April this year.The US insurer estimated the merger would add between four and six percent to its 2013 earnings.“Tower believes that the merger is a significant step towards the creation of an efficient globally diversified specialty insurance company that supports its expansion plans, building upon its existing quota share reinsurance business in London and Bermuda,” Tower Group stated.