A regulatory filing released Monday, and reported on by Reuters, showed Zurich held about 8.9 million ordinary shares in Beazley on January 30. LSEG data place Zurich within Beazley’s top 20 shareholders. The disclosure offered no detail on the timing of the share purchases or Zurich’s intentions beyond the ownership level.
The filing follows a series of takeover approaches that Beazley’s board has declined. Last month, Beazley said it had unanimously rejected Zurich’s latest proposal of 1,280 pence per share in cash, arguing the offer “materially undervalues Beazley and its longer-term prospects as an independent company.” Zurich had previously approached Beazley on January 4 with a 1,230 pence per share proposal, which the board also rejected.
Beazley subsequently disclosed that Zurich had made three proposals in June 2025, including one valuing the company at 1,315 pence per share, implying an equity value of about £8.4 billion. That level was above the most recent offer and was also turned down. Beazley said it engaged with Zurich at the time and provided limited due diligence information “in a good faith effort to come to a shared understanding of value.”
Zurich has said the 1,280 pence proposal represented a roughly 56% premium to Beazley’s closing share price on January 16 and would create a specialty insurance business with about $15 billion of gross written premiums. Any offer price could be reduced by the amount of dividends declared or paid after an announcement. Zurich’s property and casualty business generated about $47 billion of gross written premiums in 2024, with its specialty platform at roughly $9 billion.
Beazley shares have risen about 35% over the past 12 months and jumped sharply after Zurich’s interest became public. The company’s market capitalisation currently stands at about £6.8 billion ($9.29 billion). Under UK takeover rules, Zurich has until February 16 to announce a firm intention to make an offer or confirm it does not intend to proceed.
Asked about the disclosed stake, Zurich said it had “nothing to add” beyond the filing, according to a Reuters report.
