Transatlantic Executives Feared For Jobs At Validus Approach: Suit
August 11 2011 - 1:52PM
Dow Jones News
Validus Holdings Ltd. (VR), one of the companies fighting to
take over reinsurer Transatlantic Holdings Inc. (TRH), alleged in a
lawsuit Thursday that Transatlantic board members spurned Validus's
initial approach because they feared for their jobs.
The board members and executives instead agreed to a merger with
Allied World Assurance Co. (AWH) because Allied World was "willing
to continue their lucrative and prestigious roles as directors and
officers in a public company," Validus alleged in a lawsuit filed
in Delaware Chancery Court.
Validus revealed in the lawsuit that it had contacted
Transatlantic about a possible deal as long ago as 2008 and as
recently as June 7. Transatlantic announced the deal with Allied
World June 12.
The lawsuit alleges that Transatlantic board members and
executives may have feared for their jobs because Validus ousted
board members and executives when it completed a hostile takeover
of rival IPC Holding Ltd. in 2009.
Because Transatlantic board members didn't respond to Validus's
formal approach in early June, the suit said, they "had no way of
knowing that Validus intended to keep senior Transatlantic
management intact."
Transatlantic was approached with a third takeover offer by
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB) last week. As
with Validus, Transatlantic said the Berkshire offer wasn't
"superior" to the Allied World offer, but indicated it intended to
enter into a confidentiality agreement with Berkshire to negotiate
further.
A Transatlantic representative had no immediate comment.
-By Erik Holm, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2892;
erik.holm@dowjones.com
Transatlantic (NYSE:TRH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Transatlantic (NYSE:TRH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024