A major player in the insurance industry in oil-rich Qatar has bought up a Bermuda-based reinsurer.

Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) has taken over Antares, owned by Lightyear Capital and headed by Stephen Redmond, which has a presence on the Island and at Lloyd’s of London.

A statement from the $2.9 billion firm said the move would allow the Qatari company access to both markets — crucial to its expansion plans.

QIC already has interests in Bermuda, as the parent company of reinsurer Q-Re and as a major innstitutional investor in Catco Investment Management.

QIC president and CEO Khalifa Al Subaey said: “The acquisition of Antares is another important milestone in QIC’s internationalisation strategy.

“Antares will help QIC to build a significant global property and casualty and speciality insurance footprint.”

Sunil Talwar, CFO and deputy CEO of QIC, added: “Antares has developed into a highly successful franchise under the stewardship of Lightyear Capital and Stephen Redmond.

“Antares’ robust and diversified underwriting platform perfectly complements our group’s existing global operations. We look forward to welcoming Stephen and his team into the QIC Group and building on the profitable growth achieved thus far.”

Mr Redmond said: “We are very proud of the significant progress that we have made since the formation of Antares in 2007 and of the achievements that the company has made under the guidance of our current shareholders.

“We are excited about becoming part of QIC and believe that Antares and QIC have complementary models built around an aligned underwriting philosophy.

“As part of QIC, Antares will be a stronger business that will be well-placed for the future.”

QIC was founded in Qatar around 50 years ago and carries out operations across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The firm is the market leader in its home country and a major competitor in the Gulf region, across the Middle East and North Africa.

Qatar has a population of less than two million — although only around 250,000 are Qatari, with the rest being foreigners, who live and work in the country.

Qatar is the richest country per capita in the world, thanks to its massive oil and gas reserves — although the ruling family are working to diversify the economy.

Antares is an insurance and reinsurance group with a Bermuda-based holding company. It delivers a range of property, casualty, marine and aviation underwriting services.