Exor Raises PartnerRe Offer in ‘Final’ Push to Beat Axis Bid
(Bloomberg) -- Exor SpA upped the ante in the takeover battle for PartnerRe Ltd., raising its bid by 5.8 percent to overcome a rival offer from Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. “Exor’s binding offer clearly delivers superior value for PartnerRe shareholders,” Exor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Elkann said in a statement. “We hope the PartnerRe board agrees and does the right thing.”
Exor SpA upped the ante in the takeover battle for PartnerRe Ltd., raising its bid by 5.8 percent in a final push to beat out rival Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. for control of the reinsurer.
Exor, the investment vehicle of Italy’s billionaire Agnelli family, now plans to pay $137.50 a share for the Bermuda-based company. The Turin-based investor has backed its $6.8 billion bid by buying 9.32 percent of PartnerRe. The purchase makes Exor the company’s biggest shareholder surpassing Vanguard Group Inc.’s 7.97 percent.