Samsung Fire to Acquire 60% of Canopius, Raising Its Stake to 80.6%

Key Facts

Canopius said in London on November 10, 2026, that Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance had agreed to buy the remaining 60% stake in the insurer, alongside funds managed by KKR and Korea Investment Corporation (KIC). Samsung Fire will buy an additional 40.6%, taking its total ownership to 80.6% after completion. Under the expected ownership structure, KKR will hold 12.1% and KIC 7.3%, with the percentages subject to minor adjustments at closing. The deal makes Samsung Fire the controlling shareholder, while KKR and KIC remain owners. Canopius said the shares on offer are held by existing shareholders, including Fidentia Fortuna Holdings, the controlling consortium led by Centerbridge Partners. Completion remains subject to customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approvals.

The deal builds on a partnership that began with Samsung Fire’s investment in Canopius in 2019, followed by an increase in the Korean company’s stake to 40% through an investment in 2025. Canopius described the agreement as the culmination of a seven-year strategic partnership. Samsung Fire’s chief executive said the two sides would combine their strengths to reinforce their position in the Lloyd’s market and continue global expansion, including in the United States. He added that the agreement marked a pivotal step in the company’s transformation into a global insurer. This puts international expansion at the heart of Samsung Fire’s rationale for moving from a minority investor to a controlling owner. The final ownership structure will become clear after approvals and closing conditions are completed.

KKR said it intends to support Canopius’s growth and create value through its global platform, operational and strategic expertise, and mergers and acquisitions experience. This role gives KKR a continuing position in the ownership structure after existing shareholders sell the remaining stake. Canopius’s chief executive said the agreement provides the company with “permanent capital and an owner with a long-term perspective.” He added that Canopius would retain “the same appetite, the same discipline and the same people” in its work with clients and brokers. The company’s comments link the ownership change with continuity in its operating approach and commercial relationships. The announced stake distribution leaves KKR and KIC as shareholders alongside Samsung Fire after closing.

The deal follows strong operating performance at Canopius in 2025, with gross premiums written rising 27%, net insurance revenue increasing 30% and profit after tax climbing 16% compared with 2024. In the first half of 2026, gross premiums written rose 10% to $2.66 billion, from $2.41 billion in the same period of 2025. Net insurance revenue increased 15% to $1.59 billion, from $1.39 billion. These figures show continued business growth across the two periods reported by Canopius, with different growth rates for premiums and revenue. They provide context for the deal’s focus on the company’s expansion, while leaving its requirement for regulatory approvals unchanged.

Canopius’s net profit after tax in the first half of 2026 rose 76% to $391 million, compared with $222 million in the first half of 2025. But the company said profit rose 18% to $261 million excluding the sale of Vave. The undiscounted net loss and expense ratio was 87.3%, compared with 89.7% in the same period of 2025. The company also reported continued competition and pricing pressure, while saying pricing adequacy remained strong. It said it expected positive performance to continue in the second half of 2026 despite difficult trading conditions. The deal remains subject to completion of the required closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

In a transaction separate from the Canopius acquisition, Eldridge announced the closing of an $869 million equipment asset securitization for Stonebriar Commercial Finance, a company managed by Eldridge. The transaction, named SCFET 2026-1, is Stonebriar’s sixteenth equipment asset securitization. The notes are backed by leases and loans on mission-critical assets in the marine, mining, energy, manufacturing and technology sectors. Eldridge said Fitch Ratings and KBRA rated the transaction. An Eldridge official said the EDCF program benefits from Stonebriar’s low-cost financing, and that financing partners had helped bring nearly $11 billion in ABS bonds to market since 2016. The company added that since 2015 its platform had originated more than $19 billion in large equipment financings for Stonebriar and its diversified credit funds.

KKR shares closed at $98.09 on November 9, 2026, according to EL7 data. That price was from the session before Canopius’s announcement in London the following day. The closing data in the stock record did not include the session’s trading range. The stock’s movement that day is therefore separate in time from the deal announcement published on November 10. Completion of the acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals and the customary closing conditions specified by Canopius.