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Flagstone Announces Increase in Share Repurchase Program to Enhance Shareholder Value

^{Published on 2010-05-18 13:20:21 - Market Wire}
 

LUXEMBOURG--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings, S.A., (NYSE:FSR) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved the potential further repurchase of company stock, underscoring its commitment to optimize shareholder value. Flagstone has successfully re-purchased over five million shares under the existing re-purchase program.

Based on the positive long-term outlook for the business and its healthy capital adequacy, Flagstone has authorized management to purchase up to an additional $50 million in shares. The repurchase program permits Flagstone to buy back shares from time to time in open market and private transactions in accordance with applicable federal securities laws. The timing, price, and amount of repurchase transactions will be determined by the companya™s management, within limits imposed by the Board, based on their evaluation of market conditions, share price and other factors.

About Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings, S.A.

Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings, S.A., through its operating subsidiaries, is a global reinsurance and insurance company that employs a focused and technical approach to the Property Catastrophe, Property, and Specialty reinsurance and insurance businesses. Flagstone R©assurance Suisse has received aA-a financial strength ratings from both A.M. Best and Fitch Ratings, and aA3a ratings from Moody's Investors Service. Island Heritage and Flagstone Reinsurance Africa have received aA-a financial strength ratings from A.M. Best.

The Company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol aFSRa and the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol aFSR BHa. Additional financial information and other items of interest are available at the Companya™s website located at [ www.flagstonere.com ].

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This report may contain, and the Company may from time to time make, written or oral aforward-looking statementsa within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the Companya™s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. In particular, statements using words such as amaya, ashoulda, aestimatea, aexpecta, aanticipatea, aintenda, abelievea, apredicta, apotentiala, or words of similar import generally involve forward-looking statements.

Important events and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ include, but are not necessarily limited to: market conditions affecting the Companya™s common share price; the possibility of severe or unanticipated losses from natural or man-made catastrophes; the effectiveness of our loss limitation methods; our dependence on principal employees; the cyclical nature of the reinsurance business; the levels of new and renewal business achieved; opportunities to increase writings in our core property and specialty reinsurance and insurance lines of business and in specific areas of the casualty reinsurance market; the sensitivity of our business to financial strength ratings established by independent rating agencies; the estimates reported by cedents and brokers on pro-rata contracts and certain excess of loss contracts where the deposit premium is not specified in the contract; the inherent uncertainties of establishing reserves for loss and loss adjustment expenses, our reliance on industry loss estimates and those generated by modeling techniques; unanticipated adjustments to premium estimates; changes in the availability, cost or quality of reinsurance or retrocessional coverage; changes in general economic conditions; changes in governmental regulation or tax laws in the jurisdictions where we conduct business; the amount and timing of reinsurance recoverables and reimbursements we actually receive from our reinsurers; the overall level of competition, and the related demand and supply dynamics in our markets relating to growing capital levels in the reinsurance industry; declining demand due to increased retentions by cedents and other factors; the impact of terrorist activities on the economy; and rating agency policies and practices.

These and other events that could cause actual results to differ are discussed in more detail from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company 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 U.S. federal securities laws. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made.