Japan’s Sompo Holdings Inc. agreed to acquire Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. for $37.50 per share, paying a substantial 35.6% premium to secure the specialty insurer’s alternative capital management business and global reinsurance operations.
The ¥525 billion ($3.5 billion) all-cash deal represents Sompo’s latest effort to diversify beyond Japan’s saturated domestic market, following its previous acquisition of Endurance Specialty Holdings. The transaction values Aspen at approximately 1.2 times book value, according to industry analysts.
Aspen’s crown jewel appears to be its Capital Markets division, which manages over $2 billion in third-party assets and generated significant fee income growth in 2025. The platform enables institutional investors to access casualty insurance returns through collateralized structures – a business model that could help Sompo optimize its own capital deployment.
The acquisition comes as Aspen posted strong recent performance, including an 87.9% combined ratio and 19.4% operating return on equity for 2024. However, the Bermudian insurer only completed its initial public offering in May, raising questions about why shareholders would exit so quickly at what appears to be a generous premium.
Regulatory approvals and integration challenges loom ahead of the expected first-half 2026 closing. Sompo previously shuttered Blue Capital, its prior third-party capital unit acquired with Endurance, highlighting execution risks in combining complex alternative capital businesses.
The deal continues Japanese insurers’ overseas expansion drive as domestic growth prospects remain limited.
