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The Bermuda-based White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, White Mountains Re Group, Ltd., intends to offer and sell 250,000 fixed/floating perpetual non-cumulative preference shares, liquidation preference $1,000 per share.

The offering is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as the Preference Shares “will be sold only to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A and outside the United States to non-U.S. persons in reliance on Regulation S,” the bulletin noted.

White Mountains Re intends to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Preference Shares to further capitalize its reinsurance subsidiaries, including its Bermuda platform, and for general corporate purposes.

Fitch Ratings has assigned a ‘BBB-‘ rating to the share issue, and further affirmed its “BBB+” Issuer Default Rating and “BBB” Senior Debt ratings on White Mountains Re.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its “BB” preference stock rating to the share issuance, indicating that it “qualifies for the Intermediate Equity-Strong category.” S&P also affirmed its “BBB-” counterparty credit and senior debt ratings on White Mountains Re, as well as its “A-” counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Folksamerica Reinsurance Co. Sirius International Insurance Corp. The ratings outlook on all these companies remains stable.