Zurich Insurance Group has improved its buyout offer for rival Beazley, the UK-based speciality insurer, to $10.2bn (SFr8.06bn).

Under the revised proposal, Beazley shareholders would be entitled to receive 1,280p in cash per Beazley share.

This follows Zurich’s earlier bid on 4 January 2026, under which the Swiss insurer offered to buy 100% of Beazley for 1,230p per share.

However, that offer was turned down on 16 January by Beazley’s board for “significantly” undervaluing the business.

The latest offer marks a 56% premium over Beazley’s closing price of 820p on 16 January, as well as a 56% premium to its 30-day volume weighted average share price of 822p.

It also represents a 32% premium over the insurer’s highest-ever share price of 973p in June 2025.

Payouts or dividends declared after this announcement would be deducted from the offer price.

Zurich said that its new cash proposal offers “immediate and certain cash value” and is pitched above what it believes Beazley could achieve independently within a reasonable time frame.

Should the transaction proceed, the combined business would have around $15bn in gross written premiums and would be headquartered in the UK.

Zurich highlighted that the deal would result in a global speciality insurer with significant data resources, underwriting capability, infrastructure and a prominent position at Lloyd’s of London.

Funding for the acquisition will come from existing cash reserves, new debt arrangements and an equity placing.

The company expects the acquisition to be accretive to its financial performance targets for 2027.

Zurich has already established a Global Specialty Unit as part of its focus on expanding its speciality insurance business, which wrote around $9bn in premiums in 2024.