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Beazley: Second largest UK placing in 2022
Beazley set the standard as the first FTSE business to execute a capital raise following the Pre-Emption Group’s Statement of Principles in November 2022.
"We were delighted to provide retail investors with the opportunity to participate in our recent capital raise, in line with the Pre Emption Group's newly-updated principles. Delivering retail inclusion is part of Beazley's ongoing commitment to strong corporate governance, and we recognise our role as the first FTSE 250 company to raise capital under this new regime."
About the Company
Beazley is a global specialist insurer with operations in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. The Company is a participant in the Lloyd’s market, one of the largest and oldest insurance markets in the world. Through Lloyd's broker network and the market’s trading licenses, Beazley is able to access a wide range of insurance and reinsurance business from around the world. The Company operates in the following specialist sectors: professional indemnity, cyber liability, property, marine, reinsurance, accident and life, and political risks and contingency business.
The Offer
Beazley were raising funds to provide growth capital to fund underwriting opportunities and enable a well-balanced capital structure to be maintained. Retail investors received an 8% discount on the Closing Price. They subscribed for a total of 529,036 Retail Offer Shares at an Issue Price of 575p per share.
In December 2022, Beazley moved from being a FTSE 250 company to a FTSE 100 company. Beazley was the first FTSE business to execute a capital raise following the Pre-Emption Group’s Statement of Principles. This included post-deal disclosure outlining how retail investor inclusion was achieved. This set the standard for best practice for retail inclusion and disclosure going forward. Allocation preference for the offer was given to existing shareholders pursuant to the Retail Offer in keeping with the principle of soft pre-emption.
What are the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles?
On November 4, 2022, the Pre-Emption Group (PEG) published a new Statement of Principles which implement a number of recommendations from the Secondary Capital Raising Review (SCRR). The new rules mark an important step forward for everyday investors in UK public markets. Listed companies now actively have to consider whether retail investors should be able to take part in equity placings or as part of a separate follow-on offer.
In addition, all companies must now issue a standalone post-transaction statement explaining how new and existing retail investors interests’ were considered and if they were not involved in the transaction, why not.
To read more about the Pre-Emption Group's Statement of Principles take a look at our insights article.
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