Maiden Holdings and the Kestrel Group have announced a strategic agreement to merge and establish a publicly traded specialty program entity. The newly formed company will operate as the Kestrel Group, with plans for its common shares to be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Under the terms of the agreement, each existing common share of Maiden will be exchanged for a common share in a newly created Bermuda-based company, which will consolidate both Maiden and Kestrel. The transaction values Kestrel at up to $167.5 million, which includes an initial cash payment of $40 million, 55 million common shares of the merged company valued at $82.5 million, and a potential earnout of up to $45 million, which would be paid in common shares of the merged entity.
As part of the deal, Maiden has put its share repurchase program on hold.
