QBE Chile management team completes buyout
- QBE Chile rebrands to Unnio on completion of MBO
- Led by Diego Panizza with support of Capsicum Re
Unnio Seguros Generales (“Unnio”), the specialist Latin American insurer, is pleased to announce the successful completion of its purchase of QBE Chile Seguros Generales S.A (“QBE Chile”), a subsidiary of QBE Latin America Insurance Holdings. Closing the year ending 31 December 2016 with a direct GWP of USD 30.7 million, QBE Chile was well placed to become wholly independent and enter its next phase of growth. The management buyout was led by Diego Panizza, CEO, with capital provided by a Capsicum Re affiliate.
Following the completion of this deal in May 2017, QBE Chile rebranded to Unnio and will continue to focus on high quality commercial insurance – including property, casualty, engineering and other specialty lines.
The team was advised by Gustavo Zang (independent lead financial advisor), Capsicum Re Latin America and its parent company Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers LLP in London. Capsicum Re’s mandate was to advise on the reinsurance structure, pricing and distribution element of the transaction and also facilitate the capital raise required.
Panizza said: “On behalf of the management team we are delighted to have successfully completed this MBO. I’d like to thank our advisors and partners, who were integral to the success of the transaction, particularly the Capsicum Re Latin America team, as the deal could not have completed without their unique ability to organise traditional reinsurance structures and non-traditional capital structures.
“There is a lot of support for Unnio and we are seeing rising demand for insurance products in the region. The MBO marks the beginning of a new journey for us and we have an exciting journey ahead.”
Rupert Swallow, CEO of Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers LLP, said: “This is a groundbreaking deal for us and we are pleased to have played such a central role in supporting Diego and his team. Our ability to combine traditional reinsurance structuring with the connectivity to raise substantial capital underpinned the management team’s objectives. This is a landmark transaction for our rapidly growing Latin American operation led by Joe Smith and we look forward to supporting Unnio as the business develops.”
For further information, please contact:
Capsicum Re
Rupert Swallow – CEO
+44 (0)207 234 4075
Rupert@capsicumre.com
Haggie Partners
David Haggie/Samantha Whiteley/Chanice Smith
+44 (0)207 562 4444
david@haggie.co.uk/ samantha.whiteley@haggie.co.uk/ chanice.smith@haggie.co.uk
Notes to editors
Unnio
QBE Chile Seguros Generales S.A was founded in 2011 and operated as a subsidiary of QBE Latin America Insurance Holdings. Following an MBO led by CEO Diego Panizza in May 2017, the company rebranded as Unnio. The insurer focuses on commercial insurance, mainly property, casualty, engeneering and other speciality lines. Unnio will continue working on strengthening its value proposition around a leading offer on service and flexibility to its clients as a local company with corporate standards and discipline.
Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers LLP
Founded by Grahame Chilton and Rupert Swallow in 2013, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers LLP Group (“Capsicum Re”) is a reinsurance broker working in partnership with Arthur J. Gallagher as its primary treaty reinsurance broking outlet. Based out of offices in London, Bermuda, Rio de Janeiro, Miami and Santiago, Capsicum Re is focused on attracting the best advocates in the market to provide bespoke and specialist reinsurance advice and products; it boasts the foremost broking teams in the specialist areas of the market that it focuses on.