Zurich makes public offer for Beazley

Zurich has gone public with a £7.67 billion ($10.3 billion) bid to buy Beazley Group, the London-listed specialty insurer. The Swiss insurer offered to buy Beazley at 1,280 pence a share in cash, a 56% premium to the company’s Friday closing price.

Following previous proposals, on January 4, 2026, Zurich submitted a proposal to the Board of Beazley at 1,230 pence in cash per Beazley share. On January 16, 2026, the Board of Beazley rejected the proposal as “significantly undervaluing Beazley.”

Beazley reported written premiums of $6.1 billion in 2024 and $3.1 billion in the first six months of 2025. The company operates in the UK, Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. Zurich’s global P&C business generated $47 billion in written premiums in 2024.

According to a statement by Zurich, the transaction would create a global leader in specialty insurance with $15 billion of gross written premiums, exceptional data availability and underwriting expertise, leading market and distribution capabilities and outstanding reinsurance and technology infrastructures.