Investment firm TowerBrook is acquiring a majority stake in MSA Mizar, an insurance claims management services provider, ma
rking its first deal in Italy since it opened an office in Milan last year.
MSA Mizar’s existing investor Columna Capital and the firm’s Executive Chairman Giovanni Campus will re-invest and retain a significant minority interest, according to a
statement reviewed by Bloomberg News. MSA Mizar’s management team will continue to be led by Chief Executive Officer Antonio Marchitelli, with Campus remaining in his role.
The transaction values MSA Mizar at as much as €400 million ($469 million), including debt, people familiar with the matt
er said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information.
Founded in 1979, MSA Mizar is an insurance claims management and third-party claims administration platform, specializing in
high-frequency motor and property claims. The Milan-based group operates in six European countries, including Spain, France, Belgium and Switzerland. It manages more than 850,00
0 claims each year and employs about 850 people.
Columna Capital invested in the company in 2022 and since then MSA Mizar has completed 10 strategic acquisitions, expan
ding its offering into adjacent claims segments as well as new markets in Europe.
The proposal is the fifth made by Zurich over more than a year, according to Chief Executive Officer Mario Greco. While his firm has un
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dertaken a series of deals in recent years, the Beazley approach is the company’s biggest bid since he took over in 2016 and its first major strategic move in a decade.
“I made an offer, it’s distant from being accepted, and now the shareholders have to speak about it,” Greco said in a phone intervie
w. “Beazley is a very complementary business to ours, there is nothing we don’t need or don’t like. The fit is very strong.”
Beazley’s board “has not yet had the chance” to consider Zurich’s latest bid and will update shareholders “in due course,” it said in a separate statement M
onday. A top 20 Beazley shareholder, who asked not to be named, told Bloomber
g News they believe Zurich’s improved proposal still undervalues the company and that Beazley’s peak-cycle earnings would demand a higher bid.