CatCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund

Markel CATCo Investment Management has announced a sweetening of the terms of the buyout process for its retrocessional reinsurance investment funds, after a settlement was reached and more investor support for its winding down was received.

The fraud lawsuit involving former CATCo CEO Tony Belisle has been stayed pending a Bermuda Supreme Court decision on the insolvency and winding-down of the Markel CATCo retrocessional reinsurance funds.

The CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund Ltd., the listed, retrocession focused insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund strategy managed by Markel CATCo Investment Management, has reported another increase in net asset value (NAV) after loss reserves saw more favourable development.

Former CATCo CEO Tony Belisle is back in court after another investor vehicle filed a fraud lawsuit in Florida alleging that he misrepresented the risks of an investment in the Markel CATCo retrocessional reinsurance investment strategy.

As the proposal of a process to buyout investors in the Markel CATCo Investment Management retrocessional reinsurance investment funds has been drawn out by legal appearances and is now waiting for a court decision to proceed, the investment manager has extended the expiry date of the support undertakings it received from investors.

Progress in the buyout of investors in the Markel CATCo Investment Management retrocessional reinsurance investment funds is unlikely to be made until next year now, as the investment manager said a court decision is unlikely to come until January 22nd 2022.

Markel CATCo Investment Management acknowledged the delay to the buyout process for its retrocessional reinsurance investment funds this morning, but said that any challenges from investors would be vigorously defended against.

Activity surrounding the buyout terms proposed to investors in the Markel CATCo Investment Management retrocessional reinsurance investment funds looks set to drag on, after a court appearance in Bermuda ended with Markel agreeing to provide additional information to creditors, we understand.

Yesterday, a judge in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York granted Markel CATCo’s petition for Chapter 15 bankruptcy recognition and relief for the proposed buyout process for the final winding down of the CATCo retrocessional reinsurance funds.

Pension Insurance Corporation plc (PIC) has explained that it won’t accept the updated and improved buyout terms proposed to investors in the Markel CATCo Investment Management retrocessional reinsurance investment funds, calling the proposal “fundamentally flawed”.