While the management team will have a significant stake in the new business, it will be majority owned by Englefield Capital, a 700 million euro ($792.8 million) private equity fund.

Trenwick Managing Agents, which shortly will be renamed, manages Syndicate 839 and Syndicate 44, a life syndicate. The acquired business begins with the 2004 year of account. Capacity is expected to be 250 million ($402.2 million) and 3.5 million ($5.6 million) for the two syndicates, respectively.

Syndicate 839 will focus on five main areas: treaty reinsurance; personal lines and property insurance; professional indemnity insurance; financial institutions insurance; and specialty lines insurance.

Mr. Watson and Jim Giordano, the chief underwriting officer, joined TMA in May 2001 when they began a restructuring of the portfolio and returned the business to profitability, the TMA management team said. As part of that effort, TMA recently ceased writing some 90-100 million of aviation business ($144.8-$160.9 million), according to market sources. (It will continue to write general aviation insurance for small planes within the syndicate specialty insurance division.)

Much of the reduction in capacity– from the current 328 million ($527.7 million) to 250 millionis attributable to the reduced aviation writings. A leader in aviation has to be able to write a minimum of 100 million ($160.9 million) in premiums, according to a market source. That volume, however, would leave the Syndicate overexposed to one line of business.

The acquisition remains subject to the completion of due diligence, execution of legal documentation and regulatory consents, TMA said.

Meanwhile, Trenwick Group Ltd., the current parent of TMA, announced on Aug. 7 its filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States and the filing of similar proceedings in Bermuda, Barbados or the United Kingdom. Previously it had placed the remainder of its businesses into runoff. In 2002, Trenwick sold the inforce business of LaSalle Re Limited, its Bermuda subsidiary.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, August 18, 2003. Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.