BSX owner to acquire Guernsey’s The International Stock Exchange (TISE)
Miami International Holdings, owner of the leading exchange in the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), has agreed to acquire another in an offshore reinsurance and ILS domicile, Guernsey’s The International Stock Exchange (TISE).
Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH) said today that it has reached an agreement with The International Stock Exchange Group Limited (TISE) on the terms of a cash offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of TISE not already owned by one of its entities.
MIH East Holdings, a Miami International Holdings entity, currently owns 29.46% of the issued ordinary share capital in Guernsey’s TISE, and now a £22.50 per share offer will value TISE at approximately £70.4 million.
At the end of 2024, TISE had reported more tan 4,400 securities on its Official List with a total market value of more than £750 billion ($975 billion).
Based in Guernsey, TISE provides financial markets and securities services to public and private companies and is known as a leading bond marketplace.
“The acquisition of TISE represents an attractive international expansion opportunity for MIH, allowing us to further execute on our strategy of operating regulated financial markets both in the U.S. and internationally,” explained Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and CEO of MIH. “We are committed to growing our international business and believe that investing additional resources in TISE will help expand its reach and capabilities. We look forward to working with the TISE team to develop new relationships with member firms and issuers and collaborate on opportunities for TISE’s future growth.”
“This offer is a testament to the significant progress we have made in executing our strategy to grow and diversify the business, as well as an endorsement of Guernsey as a leading international finance centre. Transformed from a local stock and bond market, today TISE is an established operator of public markets with an enlarged portfolio of financial markets and securities services for both public and private companies,” added Anderson Whamond, Chair of TISE. “The recommended cash acquisition recognises the strength of the business and enables our shareholders to realise the value of their investment. We are excited about the opportunities to collaborate with MIH to expand TISE’s offering across Europe and internationally.”
The Board of TISE intends to unanimously recommend the acquisition, which remains subject to various approvals.
Guernsey’s TISE has given a home to a number of insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuances over the years and Guernsey as a domicile has a position in collateralised reinsurance, as well as in captives, insurance, reinsurance and other relevant risk transfer instruments.
One notable ILS related achievement of TISE was the first parametric catastrophe bond to cover pure volcanic eruption risk, which was brought to market for the Danish Red Cross, and listed its notes in Guernsey on The International Stock Exchange (TISE).
In addition, a number of private catastrophe bond transactions placed using blockchain technology were also listed there.
Of course, Bermuda remains the home to the vast majority of cat bond and ILS issuance and its Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) is a dominant force in the listing of insurance-linked securities and so home to the majority of outstanding cat bond notes.
MIH acquired a controlling stake in the Bermuda Stock Exchange back in 2019.
As we reported last week, Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH) launched a fully-integrated trading, clearing, settlement and depository technology platform for the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), a significant step in modernising the BSX’s market infrastructure.
Back in January we reported that the BSX ended 2024 with roughly 92% of outstanding catastrophe bond issuance listed on the exchange.
With both of these ILS market relevant stock exchanges now set to fall under the same parent company, there may in the future be opportunities for synergies to be explored that could benefit the ILS market within both domiciles and more importantly globally.
