PartnerRe sanctioned by rating agencies

Following the acquisition of PartnerRe by the Italian holding company Exor, the two US agencies AM Best and Standard & Poor's downgraded the rating of the Bermudian reinsurer.

AM Best revised the financial strength rating of PartnerRe and that of all its subsidiaries from "A +" (Superior) to "A" (Excellent) and its credit rating from aa- to a+. This rating remains under review with negative outlooks.

As for Standard & Poor's, it confirmed the financial strength rating of "A" but it downgraded its outlook from stable to negative.

Both rating agencies justify this revision by the doubt hanging over the future of PartnerRe after its acquisition by Exor for the sum of 6.9 billion USD.