Shares of W.R. Berkley jumped to a record high on Friday after reporting that Tokyo-based Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance plans to buy a 15% stake in the company.
W.R. Berkley on Friday confirmed that Mitsui Sumitomo would purchase 15% of the company's common stock through open market purchases or private third-party transactions. The Berkley Family is reportedly not selling any of its common stock to Mitsui Sumitomo. In addition, Mitsui Sumitomo will not purchase any shares directly from W.R. Berkley as part of the transaction.
The Berkley family and their trusts own about 16% of the company's outstanding common stock.
Once Mitsui acquires 4.9% of the common stock, it has agreed to vote with those shares based on recommendations from the Berkley family. Once Mitsui acquires 12.5% of the outstanding shares, the Berkley family will recommend the nomination and election of a Mitsui director to the company's board.
The Berkley family intends to continue holding two seats on the company's board. The new agreement is not expected to have any effect on the day-to-day operations of W.R. Berkley.
The purchases are expected to be completed by the end of March 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
W.R. Berkley Stock
WRB stock popped 7.5% Friday to a new all-time high. Berkley's gain on Friday put shares ahead almost 13% for the week, with a year-to-date gain of just under 22%.
The 60 stocks in IBD's property and casualty insurance group had collectively gained nearly 6% for the year through Thursday. That gave the group a strong No. 9 ranking among the 197 industries tracked by IBD.
Within the group, W.R. Berkley ranked seventh, according to the IBD Stock Checkup.
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