The board of global insurer and reinsurer ACE Limited, has approved a proposal
to relocate the company's place of incorporation from the Cayman Islands to
Switzerland.
ACE’s shareholders will be asked to vote in favour of the proposal at
ACE’s Annual General Meeting, which will be scheduled for July in Hamilton,
Bermuda. If approved by ACE’s shareholders, and subject to certain regulatory
approvals, ACE expects the re-domestication to be effective in July 2008. In
connection with the re-domestication, ACE plans to establish a corporate holding
company office in Zurich.
According to a statement announcing the move, following the re-domestication,
the ACE Group of Companies will continue to operate as they do currently. ACE
Limited will continue to maintain executive offices in Bermuda, and ACE Group
Holdings will continue to maintain executive offices in New York. The company’s
Bermuda insurance and reinsurance operations will continue to operate without
material changes. ACE will continue to be registered with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) and its common shares will continue to trade on the
New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'ACE.'
"This move is part of the natural evolution of ACE from its beginning
over two decades ago as a monoline excess insurer owned by its policyholders
to a global publicly-traded insurance company operating throughout the developed
and developing world," said Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of ACE Limited.
Greenberg added:
"Our incorporation in a major financial centre, home to many global financial
and insurance companies, will provide an improved corporate structure and an
excellent location for further growth and expansion of our company. We believe
that this change in our corporate residency will provide us with better strategic
flexibility, a solid legal and regulatory environment, and improved ability
to manage our capital and our businesses.
"Switzerland also affords us the security of a network of tax treaties.
At the same time, we intend to maintain the ACE Group’s operations in
Bermuda, where we have conducted business since the inception of the company."
ACE does not expect the re-domestication to have any material adverse short-term
or long-term impact on its financial results.
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