London, Feb 13, 2026, 09:42 GMT — Regular session
Beazley (BEZG.L) edged up 0.65% to 1,245 pence Friday morning in London, following fresh Takeover Code filings revealing Caxton Associates now has a 3.48% economic stake through cash-settled derivatives. (London South East)
The stock remains tightly tethered to speculation over Zurich Insurance’s move — a possible bid for the Lloyd’s market specialty insurer that’s set the tone for weeks. Zurich has tabled an offer valuing Beazley at up to 1,335 pence per share, breaking down as 1,310 pence in cash, plus allowed dividends up to 25 pence. Beazley, for its part, signaled it would likely endorse a formal bid if one lands. (Reuters)
Zurich faces a 5:00 pm London deadline on Feb. 16 to declare a formal bid for Beazley or step aside, per the Takeover Panel’s disclosure table. Beazley shares are trading roughly 90 pence under the top proposed offer—a discount often seen when deal risks or timing questions linger. (Investegate)
Goldman Sachs International, acting as an exempt principal trader in its client-serving role, disclosed in a separate form 8.5 that it picked up 694,682 shares of Beazley and unloaded 2,180,008 shares on Feb. 11 while linked to Zurich. (London South East)
Polar Capital picked up 38,441 shares of Beazley at 1,232 pence, according to a form 8.3 filing on Thursday. The firm now holds a 2.27% stake in the insurer. (Investegate)
State Street Global Advisors disclosed in a form 8.3 Thursday that it owns roughly 1.19% of Beazley. The filing also revealed a minor share purchase at approximately £12.27 apiece on Feb. 11. (Investegate)
This is just the usual offer-period routine—banks, hedge funds, and big institutional players crossing disclosure thresholds have to lay out their numbers. There’s no verdict here on who’s got the right call, but it does reveal who’s swinging the heftiest positions.
Elsewhere, Beazley rolled out findings from its annual Risk & Resilience survey on Thursday, highlighting what it called “converging risk” as tech and geopolitical issues run together. Chief Underwriting Officer Paul Bantick described a shift—companies are now turning to specialty insurance “not only for protection but as a core pillar of long term growth”. (Reinsurancene)
Still, the bid isn’t a done deal yet. Papers and sign-offs are next. Confirmatory due diligence tends to drag, and any binding offer faces shareholder and regulatory hurdles. Should Zurich pull out, the stock could see a steep drop.
Right now, traders have their eyes on two fronts: whether the economics of the proposed offer budge, and whether the Feb. 16 deadline ends up moving.
If the takeover falters, Beazley is on the clock—its full-year numbers are due March 4. (Beazley)
