DLA Piper has advised Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International on its $464 million investment in Bermuda-based property and casualty insurer Ironshore.
The purchase gives Fosun a 20 percent stake in Ironshore.
Ironshore said it would use the proceeds from Fosun’s purchase to buy back outstanding ordinary shares from existing shareholders, including existing long-term private equity shareholders.
The team from DLA Piper was led by corporate partner and head of the firm’s Asia corporate practice, Paul Chen, who is based in Hong Kong.
Cahill Gordon advised Ironshore, and was led by capital markets partner Susanna Suh and M&A partner Kimberly Petillo-Décossard, who are based in New York.
Fosun is the largest privately-owned conglomerate in China. Chairman Guo Guangchang has been trying to emulate Warren Buffett’s insurance and investment business model, using insurance premiums to drive higher-yielding investments.
The Ironshore investment comes after Fosun had missed buying Korean insurer LIG Insurance to domestic competitor KB Financial Group in June.
In January, Fosun bought 80 percent of Portugal-based insurer Caixa Seguros e Saúde for $1.4 billion, which gave it control of Fidelidade, Portugal’s largest insurance company.