Syncora to sell guarantee insurance subsidiary to Star Insurance for £323m

Bermuda-domiciled Syncora has agreed to sell its financial guarantee insurance subsidiary Syncora Guarantee to Star Insurance for $392.5m (£323.61m) in an all-cash deal.

Star Insurance is an entity organised by GoldenTree Asset Management on behalf of the latter’s managed funds and accounts.

The deal is expected to take place by the end of the fourth quarter of 2019 or during the first quarter of 2020.

Syncora Guarantee, which is based in New York, offers financial guarantee insurance on the debt obligations of issuers across the world. The company guarantees US municipal bonds, debt backed by utilities and selected infrastructure projects, asset-backed securities, specialised risks, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), and others.

The holding company said that it received solicitations of interest from dozens of potential buyers.

Syncora CEO and president Frederick Hnat said: “This agreement is the culmination of years of hard work and focus on our core strategies of risk reduction, asset monetization and enhancing value for our shareholders.

“We are very pleased with the terms of the agreement with Star Insurance, an entity organized by GoldenTree, one of the largest independent asset managers focused on credit, and believe that it helps accomplish our long stated goal of optimizing shareholder value and returning capital to shareholders.”