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Significant Transactions | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2015
Significant Transactions [Abstract] |
Significant Transactions | Significant Transactions Sale of Sirius Group On July 27, 2015, White Mountains entered into an agreement to sell Sirius Group to CM International Holding PTE Ltd., the Singapore-based investment arm of CMI. The purchase price will be paid in cash in an amount equal to 127.3% of Sirius Group’s closing date tangible common shareholder’s equity, plus $10.0 million. White Mountains has the option to replenish Sirius’s tangible common shareholder’s equity to its December 31, 2014 level should it be below that level at closing. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016 and is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. As a result of the transaction, Sirius Group’s results are reported as discontinued operations and assets and liabilities held for sale within White Mountains’s GAAP financial statements. Assets held for sale does not include White Mountains's investment in Symetra and certain other investments that are in the Sirius Group legal entities as of September 30, 2015 but will be retained by White Mountains subsequent to the sale. As part of the transaction, White Mountains will transfer assets at closing equal to the value of the investments to be retained. The value of these investments, net of related tax effects, is approximately $510.8 million as of September 30, 2015. In connection with the transaction, White Mountains caused Sirius Group to purchase several industry loss warranty contracts purchased to mitigate the potential impact of major events on Sirius Group's balance sheet pending the close of the sale to CMI (the “ILW Covers”). The cost and potential economic benefit provided by the coverage under the ILW Covers inure to White Mountains. The majority of the contracts expire in May or June 2016. The following summarizes the ILW Covers:
Scope |  | Limit |  | Industry Loss Trigger
United States first event |  | $75.0 million |  | $40.0 billion
United States first event |  | $22.5 million |  | $50.0 billion
United States second event |  | $45.0 million |  | $15.0 billion
Japan first event |  | $25.0 million |  | $12.5 billion
Symetra During the third quarter of 2015, Symetra Financial Corporation (“Symetra”) announced that it entered into a definitive merger agreement with Sumitomo Life Insurance Company (“Sumitomo Life”) pursuant to which Sumitomo Life will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Symetra. White Mountains expects to receive $32.00 per share in cash at closing. White Mountains also received a special dividend of $.50 per share as part of the transaction that was paid in the third quarter of 2015. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016 and is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. OneBeacon Crop Business On July 31, 2015, OneBeacon exited its multiple peril crop insurance (“MPCI”) and its related crop-hail business (collectively, “Crop Business”) as its exclusive managing general agency, Climate Crop Insurance Agency (“CCIA”), exited the business through a sale of the agency to an affiliate of AmTrust. OneBeacon has withdrawn its 2016 Plan of Operations and AmTrust will reinsure OneBeacon’s remaining net Crop Business exposure for the 2015 reinsurance year. As a result of this transaction, OneBeacon has no material net exposure related to the Crop Business. For the three months ended September 30, 2015, OneBeacon recorded ceded written premiums of $35.9 million, ceded earned premiums of $16.8 million, ceded loss and loss adjustment expenses of $15.1 million, ceded insurance acquisition expenses of $2.8 million as a result of this transaction. OneBeacon also received a payment of $3.0 million in connection with the termination of its agreement with CCIA, which has been recorded in other revenue. PassportCard On April 2, 2015, White Mountains closed on its 50/50 joint venture with DavidShield Life Insurance Agency (2000) Ltd. (“DavidShield”) for the development, marketing and distribution of PassportCard travel insurance (“PassportCard”), with White Mountains and DavidShield each contributing $21.0 million of assets to the newly formed entity, PassportCard Limited (formerly PPCI Global Limited). OneTitle On April 22, 2015, White Mountains agreed to provide up to $13.0 million to OneTitle National Guaranty Company, Inc. (“OneTitle”) and will take a minority stake in the company. OneTitle is a licensed New York title insurance underwriter that works directly with attorneys, lenders, developers and homeowners. The transaction will close subject to regulatory approval. Tranzact On October 10, 2014, White Mountains acquired majority ownership of Tranzact, a leading provider of end-to-end, performance-driven customer acquisition solutions to the insurance sector. White Mountains acquired 63.2% of Tranzact for a purchase price of $177.7 million, representing an enterprise value of $281.2 million. Immediately following the closing, Tranzact completed a recapitalization that allowed for the return of $44.2 million in capital to White Mountains. As of the acquisition date, White Mountains recognized total assets acquired related to Tranzact of $332.8 million, including $41.4 million of tangible assets, $145.1 million of goodwill, and $146.3 million of other intangible assets; and total liabilities assumed of $108.7 million at their estimated fair values. On September 1, 2015, Tranzact acquired 100.0% of the outstanding share capital of TruBridge, Inc. and TruBroker, LLC (collectively “TruBridge”) for a purchase price of $31.0 million, representing an enterprise value of $50.2 million. The purchase price is subject to an adjustment linked to the amount of marketing expense reimbursements expected to be received in 2016 and 2017. As of the acquisition date, Tranzact recognized total assets acquired of $53.8 million, which includes $20.1 million of goodwill and $28.1 million of other intangible assets, and total liabilities assumed of $3.6 million at their estimated fair values. At September 30, 2015, Tranzact recognized $9.7 million for the purchase price adjustment. durchblicker.at In July 2014, White Mountains acquired 45% of the outstanding common shares of durchblicker.at, Austria's first independent price comparison portal for insurance, gas/electricity and financial services, for EUR 8.5 million (approximately $11.7 million based upon the foreign exchange spot rate at the date of acquisition). MediaAlpha On March 14, 2014, White Mountains acquired 60% of the outstanding Class A common units of MediaAlpha. MediaAlpha is a California-based advertising technology company offering a transparent online exchange and sophisticated analytical tools that facilitate transactions between buyers (advertisers) and sellers (publishers) of insurance media (clicks, leads, and calls). Its exchange operates in four verticals: auto, home, health and life. White Mountains paid an initial purchase price of $28.1 million. The purchase price is subject to adjustment equal to 62.5% of the 2015 gross profit in excess of the 2013 gross profit. As of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, White Mountains has recognized a $7.9 million liability for the contingent purchase price adjustment. After adjustment for the estimated contingent purchase price adjustment, White Mountains recognized total assets acquired related to MediaAlpha of $70.1 million, including $18.3 million of goodwill and $38.5 million of other intangible assets, and total liabilities assumed of $10.0 million, reflecting acquisition date fair values. Wobi On February 19, 2014, White Mountains acquired 54% of the outstanding common shares of Wobi for NIS 14.4 million (approximately $4.1 million based upon the foreign exchange spot rate at the date of acquisition). During 2014, in addition to the common shares, White Mountains also purchased NIS 31.5 million (approximately $8.5 million) of newly-issued convertible preferred shares of Wobi. Wobi is the only price comparison/aggregation business in Israel, with an insurance carrier panel that represents 85% of the premiums written in the Israeli insurance market. Wobi sells four insurance lines of business, primarily personal auto, and operates as an agency, charging upfront commissions on all insurance policy sales. Wobi also offers a pension products comparison service for Israeli customers and is paid transaction fees when customers use the service to connect to companies that sell those pension products. As of the acquisition date, White Mountains recognized total assets acquired related to Wobi of $13.4 million, including $5.5 million of goodwill and $2.9 million of other intangible assets; and total liabilities assumed of $0.7 million at their estimated fair values. During the second quarter of 2015, White Mountains increased its ownership interest in Wobi through the purchase of shares from a non-controlling interest shareholder for NIS 35.0 million (approximately $9.1 million) and newly-issued convertible preferred shares for NIS 25.0 million (approximately $6.6 million). As of September 30, 2015, White Mountains’s ownership share was 95.3% on a fully converted basis. On February 23, 2015, Wobi acquired 56.2% of the outstanding share capital of Tnuva Finansit Ltd. (“Cashboard”) for NIS 9.5 million (approximately $2.4 million). The acquisition of Cashboard accelerated Wobi's development of its pension products comparison service. As of the acquisition date, Wobi recognized total assets acquired of $5.5 million, including $0.3 million of goodwill and $2.8 million of other intangible assets; and total liabilities assumed of $1.2 million at their estimated fair values. During the second quarter of 2015, Wobi purchased newly issued common shares of Cashboard for NIS 10.0 million (approximately $2.6 million), which increased its ownership interest in Cashboard to 68.3%. Star & Shield On January 31, 2014, White Mountains acquired certain assets and liabilities of Star & Shield Holdings LLC, including SSRM, the attorney-in-fact for SSIE, for a purchase price of $1.8 million. White Mountains owns $20.0 million of surplus notes issued by SSIE. Principal and interest on the surplus notes are payable to White Mountains only with approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. SSIE is a Florida-domiciled reciprocal insurance exchange providing private passenger auto insurance to the public safety community and their families. SSIE is a variable interest entity (“VIE”). As a result of SSRM’s role as the attorney-in-fact to SSIE and the investment in SSIE’s Surplus Notes, White Mountains is required to consolidate SSIE. At September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, consolidated amounts included total assets of $16.3 million and $13.5 million and total liabilities of $31.5 million and $25.9 million, respectively of SSIE. The surplus notes purchased by White Mountains and the corresponding liability included in SSIE's liabilities are eliminated in consolidation. For the three months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, SSIE had pre-tax losses of $0.9 million and $1.4 million that were recorded in net loss attributable to non-controlling interests. For the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, SSIE had pre-tax losses of $2.8 million and $11.1 million that were recorded in net loss attributable to non-controlling interests.

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- Definition Description of various transactions that are significant to White Mountains financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows. + References No definition available. + Details
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