London, Jan 25, 2026, 07:47 GMT — Market closed
- Beazley ended Friday up 3.2% at 1,152p, still about 10% below Zurich’s rejected 1,280p cash proposal
- CEO Adrian Cox says any deal needs a “Premier League price” as Jefferies flags room for a higher bid
- Next catalysts: bid-related filings and Beazley’s full-year results on March 4
Beazley shares closed on Friday at 1,152 pence, up 3.2% on the day, keeping the FTSE 100 insurer in the spotlight after Zurich’s approach. The stock is still trading about 10% below the 1,280p cash proposal Zurich put forward, leaving a visible “deal spread” for traders heading into Monday. (Shareprices)
That gap matters now because it is the market’s quick read on what happens next: a richer offer, a long grind, or Zurich stepping back. Merger arbitrage — a strategy that tries to capture the gap between a bid price and the traded price — tends to pull in fast money, which can make a stock jumpy even when nothing “new” hits the tape.
Beazley rejected Zurich’s latest proposal this week, saying it “materially undervalues” the group and its longer-term prospects as a standalone company. RBC Capital Markets analysts said Zurich’s overtures had put the spotlight on Beazley’s positioning and could draw interest from other suitors, though they did not name any. (Reuters)
In its statement, Beazley said Zurich’s latest terms were below a prior proposal from late June last year at 1,315p a share, which it said implied about 2.4 times tangible book value — a balance-sheet measure that strips out intangibles like goodwill. The board also pointed to its underwriting performance, including a combined ratio of 78% since 2022; the combined ratio is claims and costs as a share of premiums, and a figure below 100% implies an underwriting profit. (TradingView)
Chief executive Adrian Cox struck a careful tone. “If it makes sense for our shareholders to do a transaction, then we’ll do a transaction,” he said, adding it needs a “Premier League price for a Premier League company.” Jefferies analysts including Derald Goh wrote that learning Zurich’s latest offer was not the highest “reframes the debate,” and said Zurich could afford better terms, but only “up to an additional 10%” on 1,280p. (SWI swissinfo.ch)
Zurich has argued the 1,280p proposal “provides full value” and said it would create a UK-based specialty insurance platform with about $15 billion of gross written premiums. Under UK takeover rules, Zurich said it is required by 5 p.m. London time on Feb. 16 to either announce a firm intention to make an offer or state it does not intend to bid, a so-called “put up or shut up” deadline. (Zurich)
Zurich has been blunt about why it wants Beazley. Chief executive Mario Greco told investors last November he wanted to grow specialty faster, calling it “a very sustainable business where you cannot simply enter,” as Zurich pushes deeper into lines such as cyber and complex commercial risks. (Insurance News)
Trading has been heavy. Turnover on Friday was about 50.1 million shares, with the stock still not far off a 1,198p year high, underscoring how quickly the price reset once the takeover talk became public. (Hargreaves Lansdown)
Regulatory disclosures have also started to pile up. Beazley has seen a flurry of Form 8.3 and related filings over the past few sessions, part of the UK Takeover Panel’s disclosure regime that forces investors above certain thresholds — and those dealing during an offer period — to show their hand. (Investegate)
But the risk for holders is simple: if Zurich holds the line or walks away, the bid premium can evaporate. A drawn-out process can also shake out merger-arb money quickly, leaving the stock to trade back on fundamentals and on the insurance cycle, which can turn on pricing and loss events.
Investors will be watching for any fresh statement from Zurich as the new week starts, as well as further stake disclosures. Beyond the deal noise, Beazley’s next hard date is March 4, when it is due to report full-year 2025 results. (Beazley)
