Berkshire Hathaway acquires a 3% stake in Swiss Re

23.01.2008, Swiss Re announced today that Berkshire Hathaway has acquired a 3% stake in the company. Swiss Re has also entered into a reinsurance contract with Berkshire Hathaway. The capital released as a result of this reinsurance contract will be used to buy back shares.

In compliance with the Swiss Federal Act on Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., 3555 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE 68131, USA, notified Swiss Re on 22 January 2008 that, as of the same day, it holds through its subsidiary Columbia Insurance Company, 3024 Harney Street, Omaha, NE 68131, USA, 11 250 000 registered shares or 3.03% of the voting rights of Swiss Re, which it acquired in the open market.

Swiss Re has also entered into a proportional reinsurance contract with Berkshire Hathaway. Under this quota share arrangement, Berkshire Hathaway will assume a 20% share of all Swiss Re's property and casualty business for the next five years. The contract is effective as of 1 January 2008. This will lead to a reduction in the capital deployed in Swiss Re's P&C business.

As a result, Swiss Re intends, in addition to its previously announced buy-back programme, to acquire its own shares in the market for general treasury purposes up to a total value of CHF 1.75 billion. This buy-back is expected to be completed over the next 24 months as the capital relief resulting from the quota share arrangement is achieved. As a result, Swiss Re now targets a total buy-back, including shares already re- purchased, of up to CHF 7.75 billion. Since 1 March 2007, Swiss Re has re-purchased 16 650 479 shares from General Electric Company and 11 083 000 shares under its existing buy-back programme.

Swiss Re’s Chief Executive Officer, Jacques Aigrain, commented: ”This reinsurance arrangement is further evidence of our commitment to actively manage the P&C cycle in the best interest of our shareholders. The additional capital efficiency as well as the downside protection will permit Swiss Re to retain flexibility in a softening property and casualty market. The arrangement also underlines the strength of our underwriting capabilities. It will allow us to increase capacity rapidly should pricing conditions improve. Furthermore, it will advance our efforts to manage earnings volatility – a key strategic priority.”

Über Swiss Re:

Die Swiss Re Gruppe ist einer der weltweit führenden Anbieter von Rückversicherung, Versicherung und anderen versicherungsbasierten Formen des Risikotransfers mit dem Ziel, die Welt widerstandsfähiger zu machen.

Sie antizipiert und steuert Risiken – von Naturkatastrophen bis zum Klimawandel, von alternden Bevölkerungen bis zur Cyber-Kriminalität. Ziel der Swiss Re Gruppe ist es, der Gesellschaft Wohlstand und Fortschritt zu ermöglichen, indem sie ihren Kunden bei neuen Geschäftsmöglichkeiten und Lösungen unterstützend zur Seite steht.

Von seinem Hauptsitz in Zürich (Schweiz) aus, wo die Swiss Re Gruppe 1863 gegründet wurde, steuert das Unternehmen ein Netzwerk von weltweit rund 80 Standorten. Es ist in drei 8/9 Geschäftseinheiten gegliedert, die jeweils über eine eigene Strategie und eine Reihe von Zielsetzungen verfügen, die zur Mission der Gruppe insgesamt beitragen.

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