XML 20 R9.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.5.0.2

Significant Transactions | 9 Months Ended
--- | ---
Sep. 30, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Significant Transactions | Significant Transactions Sale of Sirius Group On April 18, 2016, White Mountains completed the sale of Sirius Group to CMI for approximately $2.6 billion. $161.8 million of this amount was used to purchase certain assets to be retained by White Mountains out of Sirius Group, including shares of OneBeacon. The amount paid at closing was based on an estimate of Sirius Group’s closing date tangible common shareholder’s equity. In the second quarter of 2016, White Mountains recorded $366.6 million of gain from sale of Sirius Group in discontinued operations and $113.3 million in other comprehensive income from discontinued operations. In the third quarter of 2016, White Mountains recorded a $4.0 million reduction to the gain from sale of Sirius Group in discontinued operations as a result of the final true-up of Sirius Group's closing date tangible common shareholder's equity. Through April 18, 2016, 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 do not include White Mountains’s investment in OneBeacon and certain other investments that were held in the Sirius Group legal entities as of December 31, 2015. The value of these investments, net of related tax effects, was approximately $686.2 million, of which $528.6 million was Symetra common shares, as of December 31, 2015. As part of the sale of Sirius Group, White Mountains purchased Ashmere Insurance Company (“Ashmere”), a subsidiary formerly owned by Sirius Group. Ashmere was under an agreement to be sold as of September 30, 2016 and the sale was completed on October 12, 2016. As of September 30, 2016, Ashmere's assets and liabilities are presented as held for sale. The transactions to purchase the investments in OneBeacon and the other investments held by Sirius Group prior to the closing are presented in the statement of cash flows as net settlement of investment cash flows with discontinued operations. Symetra On February 1, 2016, White Mountains sold its investment in Symetra Financial Corporation (“Symetra”) for proceeds of $658.0 million, or $32.00 per share. (See Note 14 - “Investments in Unconsolidated Affiliates”). 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. As a result of the transaction, OneBeacon and CCIA agreed to an early termination of the existing five-year agreement. In connection with the termination of the agreement, OneBeacon received a payment of $3.0 million. Also related to the transaction, OneBeacon withdrew its 2016 Plan of Operations, which previously authorized it to write MPCI for the 2016 Reinsurance Year, and affiliates of AmTrust agreed to reinsure the Company’s remaining net Crop Business exposure for the 2015 Reinsurance Year under a related 100% quota share reinsurance agreement which, coupled with other transfer and assignment agreements as well as communications with policyholders and agents, had the effect of assumption reinsurance. As a result of this transaction, the Company has no material net exposure related to the Crop Business. Sale of Tranzact On July 21, 2016, White Mountains completed the sale of Tranzact to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC and received net proceeds of $221.3 million. In connection with the sale of Tranzact, the purchaser directly repaid $56.3 million for the portion of Tranzact's debt attributable to White Mountains's common shareholders. White Mountains recorded a $51.9 million gain from the sale of Tranzact in discontinued operations, which included a $30.2 million tax expense for the reversal of a tax valuation allowance that is offset by a tax benefit recorded in continuing operations. (See Note 8 - “Income Taxes”). The increase to White Mountains’s book value from the sale of Tranzact was $82.1 million. A reconciliation of the gain reported in discontinued operations to the impact to White Mountains's book value is as follows:
Gain from sale of Tranzact reported in discontinued operations |  | $ | 51.9 |
Add back reclassification from continuing operations for the release of a tax valuation allowance |  | 30.2 |
Increase to White Mountains book value from sale of Tranzact |  | $ | 82.1 |
Through July 21, 2016, Tranzact's results of operations are reported as discontinued operations and assets and liabilities held for sale within White Mountains's GAAP financial statements. 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 $9.0 million based upon the foreign exchange spot rate at the dates of acquisition) 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 80% 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. During the three months ended September 30, 2016, White Mountains purchased NIS 11.5 million (approximately $3.1 million based upon the foreign exchange spot rate at the dates of acquisition) of convertible preferred shares of Wobi. During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, White Mountains purchased NIS 27.9 million (approximately $7.5 million based upon the foreign exchange spot rates at the dates of acquisitions) of convertible preferred shares of Wobi, increasing its ownership share to 96.7% on a fully converted basis. During 2015, Wobi acquired Tnuva Finansit Ltd. (“Cashboard”) in two transactions for a total of NIS 35.9 million (approximately $8.9 million based upon the foreign exchange spot rate at the dates of acquisition). 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 acquisition date fair values. 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. SSIE is a Florida-domiciled reciprocal insurance exchange providing private passenger auto insurance to the public safety community and their families. White Mountains invested $21.0 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 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. In response to the significant increases in both frequency and severity of accidents in the private passenger automobile insurance market in the State of Florida, SSIE voluntarily ceased writing new policies effective July 1, 2016 and will voluntarily cease renewing policies at a future date, subject to regulatory approval. On August 19, 2016, White Mountains reached an agreement to sell Star & Shield and its investment in SSIE surplus notes to National General Holdings Corp. As a result, during the first nine months of 2016, White Mountains wrote off its investment in SSIE surplus notes. White Mountains consolidates the issuer of the surplus notes, Star & Shield Insurance Exchange and, accordingly the impact of the write down is eliminated in pre-tax income. However, the write down resulted in a $21.0 million total decrease to net income attributable to White Mountains's common shareholders and a corresponding increase to net income attributable to non-controlling interests. At September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, consolidated amounts included total assets of $11.4 million and $14.2 million and total liabilities of $7.2 million and $30.3 million, respectively, of SSIE. For the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, SSIE had pre-tax income of $0.4 million and pre-tax loss of $0.8 million that were recorded in net gain (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests. For the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, SSIE had pre-tax income of $20.3 million and pre-tax loss of $0.9 million that were recorded in net gain (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests. The decrease in total liabilities and increase in pre-tax income in the current year is due to the $21.0 million write down of the surplus notes at SSIE.

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- 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
Name: | wtm_SignificantTransactionsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | wtm_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration