AXIS Capital Agrees To Terminate Merger With PartnerRe - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - AXIS Capital Holdings Limited (AXS) announced that it has accepted a request from PartnerRe Ltd. (PRE) to terminate the amalgamation agreement with AXIS Capital. PartnerRe will pay AXIS Capital a $315 million fee to immediately terminate the amalgamation agreement, which was originally entered into by both companies on January 25, 2015.

The special meeting of AXIS Capital shareholders, which was scheduled for August 7, 2015, has been cancelled.

The Company has reinstated its share repurchase program, which has $749 million remaining under the Board's current authorization through December 31, 2016. As part of this program, a $300 million accelerated share repurchase of the Company's stock is expected to begin as soon as is practical and should be completed no later than December 31, 2015.

The share repurchase program allows the Company to effect repurchases in open market or privately negotiated transactions. The Company's share repurchase program had been put on hold following the merger announcement with PartnerRe.

Earlier today, EXOR S.p.A. announced it has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of PartnerRe for $137.50 per share in cash plus a $3.00 per share special dividend, for a total consideration of $140.50 per share, valuing PartnerRe at approximately $6.9 billion.

EXOR's definitive agreement with PartnerRe follows the mutual decision of PartnerRe and AXIS Capital Holdings Limited to terminate their amalgamation agreement and cancel the Special General Meeting planned for August 7, 2015.