Aquarian buys majority stake in Somerset Re

New York investment firm Aquarian Holdings agreed to buy a controlling interest in Somerset Reinsurance , a provider of reinsurance solutions to the U.S. life insurance and annuity market. The deal will give the Bermuda-based reinsurer “a substantial amount of immediate and committed new capital to further drive growth.”

Somerset, led by CEO Jeff Burt, had $5 billion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, which Aquarian’s investment arm will oversee. Hannover Re and hedge fund manager George Weiss will remain strategic investors in Somerset.

“We are very excited to have Somerset Re join the Aquarian platform. Since our launch, we have successfully partnered with premier insurers and asset managers to support their strategic growth. We look forward to further developing and scaling Somerset Re alongside CEO Jeff Burt and the management team, in partnership with their strong strategic shareholders.” – Rudy Sahay, founder and managing partner of Aquarian.

“I am delighted to partner with Aquarian and welcome their strategic investment in our platform as we continue to build on our well-established track record of success, alongside the continued support of our founder George Weiss and Hannover Re. Aquarian brings highly differentiated asset-management capabilities focused on the insurance market that will add to our long-term partnering and solution-oriented approach to servicing our customers.” – Somerset Re CEO Jeff Burt.

“We are pleased with the recognition of the success in our current investment and look forward to continuing our successful relationship and growing our collective businesses into the future.” – Dr. Klaus Miller, member of the executive board of Hannover Re.