NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cartesian Capital Group, a global private equity firm, today announced the creation of Iris Reinsurance Ltd., an authorized Class-3 reinsurer based in Bermuda. Formed in conjunction with Chase Toogood and Schuyler Havens, "IrisRe" will offer reinsurance primarily in the form of industry-loss warranties and cover a wide spectrum of catastrophic perils globally.

"The global financial crisis has created a true dislocation in the reinsurance markets," said Peter Yu, Managing Partner of Cartesian and Director of IrisRe. "While the underlying risks remain largely unchanged, the financial crisis has fueled both strong demand for reinsurance and a significant reduction in the reinsurance capacity of the capital markets. With a secure capital base and drawing on Chase Toogood's broad experience in the Bermuda market, IrisRe will work creatively to meet the needs of the insurance and reinsurance industries."


About Cartesian Capital Group

Cartesian Capital Group LLC (www.cartesiangroup.com) manages more than $1.1 billion in private equity investments on a global and opportunistic basis. Cartesian was founded in 2006 by Peter Yu and members of the senior management team of AIG Capital Partners, Inc., which the team founded and built into a leading emerging markets private equity firm. Today, Cartesian has over 20 professionals and offices in New York, Vienna, Warsaw, Bucharest, São Paolo, and Shanghai. Cartesian's recent activity in the financial services industry includes leading a R$400 million investment in Banco Daycoval, a mid-market bank in Brazil.



For Cartesian Capital Group

John McInerney, 212-508-9628

jmcinerney@makovsky.com

or

Travis Ferber, 212-508-9653

tferber@makovsky.com

Both of Makovsky + Co.

Source: Cartesian Capital Group