Madison Realty Capital closes new debt investment vehicle up to US$1 billion

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 -- Madison Realty Capital, a New York City-based real estate private equity firm focused on debt and equity investment strategies, recently closed on a new debt investment vehicle with up to US$1 billion in investing capability. (US$1 = RM4.11)

Madison, with US$5.6 billion of gross assets under management, will deploy this new debt strategy to target lighter value-add and core-plus real estate transactions with a greater focus on income generation with rates of four per cent to 7.5 per cent.

The new strategy adds another solution to Madison Realty Capital’s comprehensive lending and investment platform and allows the firm to provide an even greater variety of options to its deep relationships of real estate owners, operators and lenders.

Accordingly, the firm will originate and acquire senior loans and mezzanine loans as well as make preferred equity investments backed by a diversified pool of transitional real estate assets.

The new vehicle also enables Madison Realty Capital to provide other alternative real estate lenders with financing solutions on both a single asset and overall portfolio basis. 

“Expanding our product offering is consistent with Madison’s approach of developing financing solutions to meet the evolving needs of our borrowers and to capture more income-oriented opportunities we might have otherwise had to forego,” Madison Realty Capital Managing Principal and Co-Founder, Josh Zegen said in a statement.

-- BERNAMA

Menlo Security secures US$100 million in latest financing

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 -- Menlo Security, a leader in cloud security, has raised US$100 million in Series E funding, valuing the company at US$800 million. (US$1 = RM4.133)

The round was led by Vista Equity Partners, a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software, data and technology-enabled businesses, with additional participation from Neuberger Berman funds, General Catalyst, JP Morgan, and other existing investors.

This new capital will further fuel market expansion and empower the company to scale go-to-market capabilities, as well as provide increased investment in engineering to accelerate product delivery and category expansion.

As businesses of all sizes embrace remote working and migrate to software as a service (SaaS), security is being completely re-architected to combat modern-day threats such as phishing and ransomware. 

Traditional ‘detect and respond’ approaches fail to provide the safety that users and businesses need, thus the Menlo Security Cloud SWG is an extensible security platform – built on a unique isolation core – that delivers on the promise of cloud security.

It provides the most effective zero trust approach to preventing malicious attacks, offers seamless experience for end-users that allows for safe, uninterrupted work while accessing the Internet, SaaS or private applications; and removes significant operational burden for security operations teams.

Despite market uncertainty in the wake of COVID-19, Menlo Security has maintained impressive momentum, with 155 per cent ARR growth and over 100 per cent increase in average deal size year to date compared to the same period last year.

More details at www.menlosecurity.com.

-- BERNAMA

PACIFIC PRIME AND ALLIANZ LAUNCH NEW SME PLAN

SINGAPORE, Nov 10 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- In partnership with Allianz*, Pacific Prime Insurance Brokers Singapore (“Pacific Prime”) announces the launch of a new SME Solutions plan, offering small and mid-sized enterprises with comprehensive benefits at a competitive price in the market.

From now until 1^st January 2021, a limited number of clients of the SME Solutions plan will be able to receive preferential rates and bonus coverage.

Olivier Zeller, Singapore CEO at Pacific Prime, says that: “In light of global economic uncertainties, small and mid-sized enterprises often consider switching to policies based on price which can lead to administrative and claim issues down the line. The SME Solutions plan is designed to address this concern, making affordability a central tenet, whilst ensuring a robust and sustainable plan.”

The SME Solutions plan is flexible and provides easy access via an online portal. It enables SME employers to select the plan modules that best suit their employees’ needs. Moreover, the plan onboards eligible employees without delays.

Employees will be able to benefit from:
 

·     Freedom to choose medical provider(s)
·     Cover for Telehealth consultations
·     Direct billing for eligible inpatient costs
·     Speedy claims process tackled via a mobile app
·     Wellbeing support services like the HealthSteps wellness app
·     Dedicated 24/7 helpline
·     COVID-19 related support services and medical evacuation if suitable treatment is not available locally (subject to permissions from relevant governments)

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=38648

Philippine insurers remain under pressure to amend minimum capital rule - AM Best

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 -- AM Best believes local companies in the Philippine insurance industry will still face significant pressure on underwriting growth and profitability amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with the recent rejection of a proposal to relax minimum capital requirements.

The new Best’s Commentary titled, ‘Philippine Insurance: Dropped Proposal to Amend Minimum Capital Rule May Have Mixed Impact,’ notes that the government has stood firm on the capitalisation requirement, which is to be met by 2022.

According to the commentary, the requirement not only prompted capital injections in the market to strengthen the insurers’ capitalisation, but also led to increased merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the Philippines’ highly fragmented insurance market.

However, in view of the economic fallout from COVID-19, AM Best notes there is a possibility that M&A momentum and the impetus to shore up capital positions may falter over the near term.

Many small and medium-sized companies will need to bolster their capital bases to comply with the increasing minimum net worth requirements.

Given the remaining time period, the global credit rating agency, AM Best expects that this will likely be achieved through capital raised with new/existing shareholders, rather than through internal capital generation.

More details at www.ambest.com.

-- BERNAMA

Stable Japan’s non-life insurance market segment outlook - AM Best

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 -- AM Best, a global credit rating agency is maintaining its stable market segment outlook on Japan’s non-life insurance segment.

According to a statement, the agency is citing sustained profitable underwriting performance and carriers’ ability to weather market volatility and maintain solid risk-adjusted capital levels.

Despite large-scale catastrophe losses last year, profitable performance in most other classes of business, particularly voluntary automobile insurance, non-life insurance companies in the country still generated an overall underwriting profit. 

This is according to a new Best’s Market Segment Report, ‘Market Segment Outlook: Japan Non-Life Insurance’.

AM Best said COVID-19 was unlikely to have a significant impact on the underwriting performance of Japan’s non-life companies over the short to medium term. 

Claims directly related to COVID-19 are expected to be manageable, given that domestic non-life insurers generally have limited net exposure to event cancellation and business interruption risks in Japan.

Based on the report, any direct negative effect on underwriting profit likely will be mitigated by the decline in claims frequency for voluntary automobile insurance, especially during the period that Japan declared a state of emergency.

In addition, most non-life companies have actively taken pre-emptive steps to offset potential effects of the pandemic, primarily through accelerating the pace of digital transformations and business reforms to raise productivity and efficiency.

AM Best notes that most major market participants have sought to develop a better perception of exposure to climate risk, as well as raise premiums on fire, flood and wind damage covers; exercise prudence and control catastrophe risk retentions; and secure sufficient capital to maintain financial soundness.

-- BERNAMA

Pacific Prime Singapore newest Worldwide Broker Network Asia Pacific member

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 -- The Lion City's leading insurance broker, Pacific Prime Singapore was recently announced as the newest Asia Pacific member of the Worldwide Broker Network™ (WBN).

WBN is a global network of commercial insurance brokers and employee benefit consultants, according to a statement.

Pacific Prime Singapore is delighted to be the latest addition to the WBN, which enables WBN's global partners to access insurance solutions in Singapore.

“The new partnership offers many benefits for Pacific Prime Singapore and their clients, both regionally and globally,” said Pacific Prime Singapore chief executive officer, Olivier Zeller.

“The Worldwide Broker Network allows us to place policies on behalf of our clients through our broker partners in virtually every country. This allows us to offer one point of contact for all policies for our multi-jurisdictional clients, irrespective of whether we have offices in this country or not.”

Zeller will be the primary point of contact for all employee benefits, corporate insurance and individual solutions in Singapore.

Pacific Prime's significant investment in both technology and people - with over 20 languages spoken and a large claims team - positions the brokerage well in delivering robust solutions to the WBN's clients, and to produce additional business for the network.

 Pacific Prime was founded in 1999, with the mission of simplifying insurance for international customers looking for health coverage. More details at https://pacificprime.com/corporate.

-- BERNAMA