Fidelis Insurance valued at $1.5 billion in lukewarm market debut

By Jaiveer Shekhawat and Echo Wang

(Reuters) -Fidelis Insurance Holdings notched a valuation of $1.5 billion on Thursday after shares of the reinsurer fell 6.4% on debut.

The company joins a list of firms that have gone public this year as the IPO market gains momentum following a stormy 2022 that forced many private companies to halt their listing plans.

Along with some of its shareholders, the Bermuda-based company sold 15 million shares at $14 apiece to raise $210 million in its IPO.

The company's shares opened at $13.10 per share, compared to its offer price of $14 apiece.

"Raising money now in the primary (market) is very important to us, enables us to take further opportunity in a very dislocated market," said Fidelis Insurance CEO Dan Burrows.

Headquartered in Bermuda, the company is a global provider of specialty insurance and reinsurance products.

J.P.Morgan, Barclays and Jefferies acted as joint lead bookrunning managers for the offering.

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in BengaluruEditing by Vinay Dwivedi and Pooja Desai)