Zurich Makes £7.7 Billion Bid for Specialty Insurer Beazley

Zurich Insurance Group AG has gone public with a £7.67 billion ($10.3 billion) bid to buy Beazley Plc, increasing pressure on the UK-listed company it’s been wooing for more than 12 months.The Swiss insurer offered to buy London-based Beazley at 1,280 pence a share in cash, according to a statement Monday, a 56% premium to the company’s closing price Friday. A deal would create a “global leader” in specialty insurance with about $15 billion of gross written premiums, Zurich said. The proposal is the fifth m ...