Conning Capital Partners Invests in NYMAGIC.

NYMAGIC, INC. an insurance holding company, whose subsidiaries specialize in ocean marine, inland marine and certain types of non-marine specialty insurance, announced that Conning Capital Partners VI, LP, an affiliate of Conning Capital Partners has made a substantial equity investment in the Company.

Conning is a private equity firm and prominent source of capital for insurance and other financial services companies. Its funds are sponsored by Conning’s parent Swiss Re. NYMAGIC operates mainly through two insurance subsidiaries, New York Marine and General Insurance Company and Gotham Insurance Company.

“Conning acquired 400,000 investment units from NYMAGIC, each unit consisting of one share of NYMAGIC common stock and an option to purchase an additional NYMAGIC common share,” said the announcement. “The exercise price for the option is based on a formula contained in the Securities Purchase Agreement between Conning and the Company. Conning paid $21.00 per unit resulting in $8.4 million in proceeds to the Company.”

NYMAGIC said it would use the proceeds to repay all of the Company’s remaining bank debt and for other corporate purposes. It also stated that “In a simultaneous transaction, John N. Blackman, Jr., a major shareholder and director of NYMAGIC, sold 100,000 investment units on similar terms.”

David W. Young, a Conning partner, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of NYMAGIC. Prior to joining Conning in 2001, Mr. Young was the Chief Investment Officer of the Progressive Corporation.

George R. Trumbull, Chairman and CEO of NYMAGIC, commented, “NYMAGIC is very pleased that Conning has decided to make an investment in the Company, and we welcome the opportunity to work with Dave Young and others at Conning. We believe the knowledge, expertise and industry contacts that Conning brings will be of significant value as we continue to transform and grow the Company.”

Young indicated that “We are impressed by NYMAGIC’s marine insurance underwriting expertise and their record in that segment of the property and casualty market. This is a time of great opportunity for a specialty insurance company like NYMAGIC that has a great brand and ample capital to grow the business. We look forward to working with management to unlock the considerable potential for enhanced shareholder value in the Company.”

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions