SCOTTISH RE BUYS US BUSINESS OF ING RE, ISSUES NEW CAPITAL

Bermudian reinsurer Scottish Re Group has completed its acquisition of ING Re’s US individual life reinsurance business, boosting its in-force life reassurance portfolio to more than $1tn. With the closing, Scottish Re received $180m in new capital from The Cypress Group by issuing ordinary shares, warrants and notes to the US private equity firm. The deal makes Cypress the largest shareholder in Scottish Re. Cypress managing director William Spiegel has been named a Scottish Re director. Meanwhile, the company has entered into a $175m credit agreement with a group of lenders led by Banc of America Securities. Finally, the group has said that it will amend its Q2 and Q3 2004 financial statements owing to errors in its accounting for international operations, which understated Q2 net earnings by $1.1m and overstated Q3 earnings by $1.2m.