Cooper Gay Acquires Majority Stake in Reinsurance Broker

Insurance and reinsurance broker Cooper Gay Holdings Ltd. said it's acquired the majority stake in a Florida-based reinsurance broker that specializes in the Argentina market.

Terms were not disclosed.

Cooper Guy said it acquired the stake in Reinsurance.com.ar LLC, which has offices in Miami and Buenos Aries.

Reinsurance.com.ar was established in 2006 by Guillermo Pastore, formerly chief operating officer of EW Blanch and Benfield Greig in Argentina. The company focuses on treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions, primarily for the Argentine market. Pastore will continue as chief executive officer.

"We have worked closely with Guillermo Pastore over the past two years, and have been impressed by the commitment, professionalism and drive of his entire team. I am delighted that we have moved to a majority shareholding in the company, further enhancing our ability to support the reinsurance requirements of this fast-growing region," Toby Esser, Cooper Gay's group CEO, said in a statement.

Attempts to reach the company for additional information were not immediately successful.

With $121.2 million in brokerage revenues for 2008, Cooper Gay ranked as the fifth-largest global reinsurance broker (Best's Review, August 2009).

In May, U.K.-based broker Cooper Gay said its 2008 profit rose 22% on growth in Germany and Eastern Europe, despite the impact of the ongoing global financial crisis on some insurance lines (BestWire, May 6, 2009).