(Reuters) – Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb is no longer exploring a potential acquisition of SiriusPoint, according to a regulatory filing on Friday, a month after disclosing his interest in taking the insurance firm private.
Loeb and SiriusPoint were unable to reach a consensus on the value of a potential deal, the filing said.
The news sent shares of the insurance firm tumbling 12.7% to $8.69 in premarket trading. The company had a market value of $1.6 billion as of Thursday close.
Loeb, who runs hedge fund Third Point, said he has “total confidence” that SiriusPoint was undertaking the necessary steps to position itself for long-term success by strengthening its balance sheet and enhancing its credit ratings.
The announcement in April about considering taking SiriusPoint private came less than three years after Loeb agreed to combine his hedge fund’s reinsurance business, Third Point Re, with rival Sirius International Insurance Group to form the global specialty insurer.
SiriusPoint “may be best positioned to execute on its turnaround strategy as a privately held company,” he had said in the regulatory filing last month.
Loeb owns a 9.31% stake in SiriusPoint, according to the filing.
(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru)
