Validus Holdings, Ltd. Announces Pricing of its Initial Public Offering

HAMILTON, Bermuda, July 25  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Validus Holdings, Ltd. (NYSE:VR) announced the pricing on July 24, 2007 of its initial public offering of 15,244,888 common shares at US$22.00 per common share.

The shares will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and will trade under the symbol "VR" beginning July 25. The offering proceeds will be used to repay interim financing for the acquisition of Talbot Holdings Ltd., to support the future growth of Validus Re and for general corporate purposes.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co. are joint book-running managers for the offering. Co-managers for the offering include Deutsche Bank Securities, JPMorgan, UBS Investment Bank, Wachovia Securities, Cochran Caronia Waller, Dowling & Partners Securities, LLC, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, ABN AMRO Rothschild LLC, Scotia Capital, Calyon Securities (USA) Inc., Comerica Securities, HSBC, and ING Financial Markets. The underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional 2,286,733 common shares to cover over-allotments.

A copy of the prospectus for the offering can be obtained from Goldman, Sachs & Co. Attn: Prospectus Department 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004 Fax: [phone] Email:  or from Merrill Lynch & co. Attn: Prospectus Department 4 World Financial Center, New York, New York 10080 Telephone: [phone].

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Validus Holdings, Ltd.

Validus Holdings, Ltd. is a provider of reinsurance and insurance, conducting its operations worldwide through two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Validus Reinsurance, Ltd. ("Validus Re") and Talbot Holdings Ltd. ("Talbot"). Validus Re is a Bermuda based reinsurer focused on short-tail lines of reinsurance. Talbot is the Bermuda parent of the specialty insurance group primarily operating within the Lloyd's insurance market through Syndicate 1183.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. This release or any other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of Validus Holdings, Ltd. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company") may include forward-looking statements which reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Forward-looking statements involve the Company's current assessment of risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual events and results and prospects to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Certain information regarding such risks and uncertainties is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain ratings, which may be affected by its ability to raise additional equity or debt financings, as well as other factors described herein; adequacy of the Company's risk management and loss limitation methods; cyclicality of demand and pricing in the reinsurance market; the Company's limited operating history; the Company's ability to successfully implement its business strategy during "soft" as well as "hard" markets; adequacy of the Company's loss reserves; continued availability of capital and financing; the Company's ability to identify, hire and retain, on a timely and unimpeded basis and on anticipated economic and other terms, experienced and capable senior management as well as underwriters, claims professionals and support staff; acceptance of the Company's business strategy, security and financial condition by rating agencies and regulators, as well as by brokers and reinsureds; competition, including increased competition, on the basis of pricing, capacity, coverage terms or other factors; potential loss of business from one or more major reinsurance brokers; the Company's ability to implement, successfully and on a timely basis, complex infrastructure, distribution capabilities, systems, procedures and internal controls, and to develop accurate actuarial data to support the business and regulatory and reporting requirements; general economic and market conditions (including inflation, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates) and conditions specific to the reinsurance markets in which the Company expects to operate; the integration of Talbot Holdings Ltd. or other businesses the Company may acquire; accuracy of those estimates and judgments utilized in the preparation of the Company's financial statements, including those related to revenue recognition, insurance and other reserves, reinsurance recoverables, investment valuations, intangible assets, bad debts, income taxes, contingencies, litigation and any determination to use the deposit method of accounting, which, for a relatively new insurance and reinsurance company like the Company, are even more difficult to make than those made in a mature company because of limited historical information; acts of terrorism, political unrest and other hostilities or other unforecasted and unpredictable events; availability to the Company of retrocessions to manage its gross and net exposures and the cost of such retrocessions; the failure of retrocessionaires, producers or others to meet their obligations to the Company; the timing of loss payments being faster or the receipt of reinsurance recoverables being slower than anticipated by the Company; changes in domestic or foreign laws or regulations, or their interpretations; changes in accounting principles or the application of such principles by regulators; and statutory or regulatory or rating agency developments, including as to tax policy and matters and reinsurance and other regulatory matters such as the adoption of proposed legislation that would affect Bermuda-headquartered companies and/or Bermuda-based insurers or reinsurers. In addition, other general factors could affect the Company's results, including: (a) developments in the world's financial and capital markets and the Company's access to such markets; (b) changes in regulations or tax laws applicable to the Company, including, without limitation, any such changes resulting from the recent investigations relating to the insurance industry and any attendant litigation; and (c) the effects of business disruption or economic contraction due to terrorism or other hostilities. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

DATASOURCE: Validus Holdings, Ltd.



CONTACT:  Enquiries: David Haggie / Juliet Tilley, Haggie Financial,

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