Berenberg lowers Beazley to 'hold' following Zurich offer

3rd Mar 2026 10:14

(Sharecast News) - Analysts at Berenberg downgraded insurance giant Beazley from 'buy' to 'hold' on Tuesday after the company announced it had received a firm buyout offer from Zurich Insurance.

Zurich Insurance and Beazley have agreed to the terms of a recommended all-cash offer by Zurich for the entire issued share capital of Beazley, with the offer price of 1,310p, alongside a 25p dividend per share, implying a total cash consideration of £8.1bn, or $10.8bn, representing a roughly 60% premium to Beazley's undisturbed closing price on 16 January.

"We believe this deal is likely to go through given the material premium offered to Beazley's unaffected share price. As such, we raise our price target to the cash offer price of 1,310p and downgrade our rating to 'hold'," said Berenberg.

The German bank also highlighted that it believes the deal to be "attractive for Zurich".

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com