Chaucer Hldgs Share Discussion Threads

[engineer66] 28/2/2011 22:20

Thanks and busy on the DYOR!

[harleymaxwell] 28/2/2011 16:41

the phoenix rising....

[edmundshaw] 25/2/2011 14:28

I owned Brit until last year. Also Chaucer, and recently added Beazley, which looks cheap to me.

Amlin, Hardy I'm not keen on, it doesn't seem so cheap to me. Also looked at a few others, but they didn't meet my specifications: good management and track record, sustainable combined ratio, good value and decent cash results over time. And decent NET tangible assets.

However, insurance is hard to evaluate I find, so I use a certain amount of "relative" valuation too (to historic prices, and to other cos in the sector). So please DYOR...

[crawford] 25/2/2011 12:32

BRE results pretty good.

[harleymaxwell] 25/2/2011 12:07

id look at Hardy (losses) again, Novae(cash rich),omega,-i think they are all in play tho

[engineer66] 25/2/2011 11:32

1fox1 It's just what I'm thinking. 58p looks too low. I might go to buy some other insurance stocks - Amilin or Catlin. Any views?

[terzoalan] 24/2/2011 08:59

Bought here around 43p based on value with the dividend yield in mind. Selling now would be just guessing... no point in my opinion, happy to hold.

[1fox1] 20/2/2011 19:15

I'm hanging on. Take out price 70p. Either way the divi is better than money in the bank!!

[asagi] 15/2/2011 15:30

Beazley offered Hardy 1.36 times NTAV.



Great to hear of that comment in Insurance Insider. It is THE industry mag. Let's hope the daily paper business sections start repeating that number, rather than the tosh The Times ran last week.

Asagi (long CHU)

[edmundshaw] 15/2/2011 14:37

Sounds more like it.

Brit was a little different, but I take the point crawford. But book value is only one measure, of course.

[ursus] 15/2/2011 14:30

insurance insider reports that terra firma indicated a bid of 65 to chaucer...

[crawford] 15/2/2011 14:26

edmundshaw,
I'm just giving the facts, I'm not an owner here (nor looking to buy).

BRE went for book value (actually the takeover is ongoing Zzzz), the whole sector is definitely in the spot light.

[edmundshaw] 15/2/2011 14:16

55p = almost no bid premium. No chance imo with three approaches.

[crawford] 15/2/2011 13:35

55p if bid is similar to BRE.

[solarno lopez] 15/2/2011 13:19

No its just boredom coupled with people moving on with a profit

[lord gnome] 15/2/2011 13:12

This has run back quite a way since the bid was announced. Clearly the market has its doubts - about the price at least.

[asagi] 14/2/2011 12:15

" Last week Terra Firma, the private equity group, emerged as one of three potential bidders for Chaucer"

this is commentary from the Telegraph, not a quote from Mr Philipps directly.

[harleymaxwell] 14/2/2011 09:45

in thwe telegraph today interview with Amlin chief exec talks about 3 bidders....

[peterz] 10/2/2011 04:05

Its just wait and see if there is a take out - or sell for 60p

[asagi] 08/2/2011 18:59

I think The Times' report is an exceptionally poor piece of journalism. At the time it was published, no offer had been received.

[dangersimpson2] 08/2/2011 17:03

It will depend on what level the large holders (Pamplona, Blackrock, BoA) are willing to entertain. I'm not sure why they'd bother discussing @55p - its less than 10% up on recent trading range - and less than the rise other insurers have recently seen on sentiment alone. 65p-70p is worth discussing I reckon but success at that level requires the buyer to take a risk on paying above NTA.

[jonwig] 08/2/2011 16:55

The DT suggests £350m according to 'industry insiders', that would be 64p. Looks about right to me.

[edmundshaw] 08/2/2011 16:41

54.7p. Barely a bid premium at all. £300m is a very rough figure or a guees, then.

[jonwig] 08/2/2011 15:57

Well, a £300m bid would be at 55p (548.5m shs in issue I think).

post #1746 - I can't find any RNS from CHU about earlier bids apart from one from AML in 2005 which didn't have any traction. Honestly, the relevant share price at the time doesn't matter one bit. Insurance companies aren't like that.

If you think underwriting cycles will turn any time soon, or that CHU will actually make money from Motor you'll probably hold out for 65p or so.

[crawford] 08/2/2011 15:20

Guy Hands bounced back to dealmaking yesterday with a �300m bid for Chaucer, the Lloyd�s of London insurer. Mr Hands, who was humbled last week when his private equity firm Terra Firma lost control of EMI to its lenders, is understood to be targeting three further buyouts in Europe as part of his fightback. Insiders said that Mr Hands, who sank 30% of two Terra Firma funds into the disastrous �4.2bn buyout of EMI in 2007, is confident that he can drag his under-water Terra Firma Capital Partners III (TFCP III) fund back to break-even, the Times reports.