Assured Guaranty Completes Merger of Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. into Assured Guaranty Inc.
02 August 2024 - 3:35AM
Business Wire
Merger Enhances Capital Structure and
Creates Operational Efficiency
Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE: AGO) (together with its
subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty) announced today that Assured
Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM) completed its merger with and into
Assured Guaranty Inc. (AG), with AG as the surviving company. The
planned merger was announced on July 8, 2024 and is effective as of
August 1, 2024.
As of today, all obligations of AGM are now obligations of AG,
and Assured Guaranty UK Limited and Assured Guaranty (Europe) SA
are now subsidiaries of AG.
At the time of merger, AG and AGM had identical financial
strength ratings with stable outlooks: AA+ at Kroll Bond Rating
Agency, AA at S&P Global Ratings and A1 at Moody’s Ratings. All
three rating agencies have indicated that they see no change to
Assured Guaranty’s financial strength as a result of the
merger.
For example, KBRA wrote that it “views the merger and the
resultant simplification of the overall organizational structure as
creating capital, operational, and regulatory efficiencies, as well
as enhancing Assured Guaranty Ltd.'s overall global platform and
scale as management continues to position its business to optimize
its market position and future growth opportunities.”
“As we said when we announced the plan to form the new AG, this
merger creates a larger scale company with a greater capital base
to support each of our insured obligations and a more diversified
insured portfolio. It also simplifies administrative processes and
our brand marketing.” said Dominic Frederico, President and CEO.
“All this positions us even better for industry leadership and
future growth.”
AG will continue to be domiciled in Maryland, with the Maryland
Insurance Administration (MIA) as its primary regulator. In
connection with the merger, the MIA approved a $300 million stock
redemption (sometimes described as a “special dividend”) by the
combined company, which is expected to be effectuated shortly
following the merger.
Links to further information on the merger (including a
Presentation, a Q&A, and rating agency comments) can be found
on the homepage of AssuredGuaranty.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
Any forward-looking statements made in this press release,
including those regarding growth opportunities for Assured
Guaranty, demand for its product, and sustained economic conditions
for increased new business, reflect Assured Guaranty’s current
views with respect to future events and are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that
may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth
in these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to, difficulties executing Assured Guaranty’s business
strategy; those risks and uncertainties resulting from changes in
rating agency models or opinions; the adequacy of Assured
Guaranty’s capital and its ability to manage such capital
efficiently; Assured Guaranty’s positioning for future growth and
industry leadership; adverse credit developments in Assured
Guaranty’s insured portfolio and the impact of those developments
on rating agency models and opinions; other risks and uncertainties
that have not been identified at this time, management’s response
to these factors, and other risk factors identified in Assured
Guaranty’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which are made as of August 1, 2024.
Assured Guaranty undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
About Assured Guaranty
Ltd.
Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a publicly traded (NYSE: AGO),
Bermuda-based holding company. Through its subsidiaries, Assured
Guaranty provides credit enhancement products to the U.S. and
non-U.S. public finance, infrastructure and structured finance
markets. Assured Guaranty also participates in the asset management
business through its ownership interest in Sound Point Capital
Management, LP and certain of its investment management affiliates.
More information on Assured Guaranty can be found at:
AssuredGuaranty.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240801448540/en/
Investor Relations: Robert Tucker, 212-339-0861 Senior Managing
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
rtucker@agltd.com
Media: Ashweeta Durani, 212-408-6042 Director, Corporate
Communications adurani@agltd.com
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