London, June 18, 2026, 15:14 (BST)
- Zurich picked up 440,459 more Beazley shares on Wednesday, taking its total to 32.19 million, or 5.35% of the company.
- Beazley was last seen near 1,284p, roughly 2% under the 1,310p per share cash offer Zurich is set to pay in the agreed deal.
- Shareholders gave their approval to the deal. The deal still needs court and regulatory sign-off before it’s set to wrap up in the second half.
Beazley shares didn’t move much in London trade Thursday. Zurich Insurance Group picked up more stock, lifting its stake in the insurer to 5.35%.
The stock last traded up 0.04% at 1,284p after opening at 1,283.5p. Zurich reported in a new filing that it bought 440,459 shares on June 17, paying between 1,283.5p and 1,284.5p.
Zurich bought 1.47 million Beazley shares the previous day. Over two days, it picked up around 1.91 million shares and lifted its reported stake from 5.03% to 5.35%.
Beazley is trading 26p below the agreed 1,310p per share cash offer. The difference, the deal spread, is what investors stand to get before costs if they buy now and hold to the offer close.
The 1,335p takeover price often quoted includes a 25p dividend. Shares went ex-dividend back on March 19, and the payout was due May 1. That leaves 1,310p as the main number for buyers now.
Beazley shares barely moved as the FTSE 100 dropped around 1.1%. Hiscox, another specialist insurer, slipped about 0.7%. Traders said Beazley’s steady price is more about its agreed takeover price than shifts in insurance stocks.
Beazley shareholders backed the takeover deal in April, with 99.9% voting in favor of the scheme. A scheme of arrangement lets a company take over another through a court-guided process, turning binding for shareholders after meeting set legal and regulatory steps. The final court hearing and closing are slated for the second half of 2026.
Zurich CEO Mario Greco called the deal “a strong step in accelerating Zurich’s Specialty strategy.” Beazley boss Adrian Cox said the bigger group would keep “Beazley at its core.” Zurich sees the combined specialty operation writing about $15 billion in annual gross premiums, before reinsurance and other deductions.
Zurich can pick up shares about 2% cheaper than the planned cash payout by buying in the market, but the takeover terms don’t change. The filings show the trades, but Zurich hasn’t disclosed a reason for the purchases.
Competition, insurance-regulatory or court approvals could take longer than hoped, or might not happen at all. The deal has a long-stop date of June 2, 2027, when it could lapse if not extended. Beazley last closed at 820p just before Zurich’s approach in January. That shows how much bid value is in the price right now, but doesn’t say where shares would go if the deal collapsed.
The current discount of about 2% suggests investors think the deal will probably close but aren’t fully sure yet. Disclosures from Zurich and updates on the rest of the approval process will likely drive the shares more than Beazley’s own earnings guidance for now.
