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Significant Transactions | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Significant Transactions | Significant Transactions OneBeacon Transaction On September 28, 2017, White Mountains received $1.3 billion in cash proceeds from the OneBeacon Transaction and recorded a gain of $554.6 million, net of transaction costs. As a result of the OneBeacon Transaction, OneBeacon’s results have been reported as discontinued operations within White Mountains’s GAAP financial statements. See Note 15 — “Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations”. Sale of Star & Shield On March 7, 2017, White Mountains completed its sale of Star & Shield and its investment in SSIE surplus notes to K2 Insurances LLC. White Mountains did not recognize any gain or loss on the sale. Through December 31, 2016, Star & Shield’s assets and liabilities are reported as held for sale within White Mountains’s GAAP financial statements. See Note 15 — “Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations”. Acquisition of Buzzmove On August 4, 2016, White Mountains acquired a 70.9% ownership share in Buzzmove for a purchase price of GBP 6.1 million (approximately $8.1 million based upon the foreign exchange spot rate at the date of acquisition). White Mountains recognized total assets acquired related to Buzzmove of $11.5 million, including $7.6 million of goodwill and $1.1 million of intangible assets, and total liabilities assumed of $0.1 million, reflecting acquisition date fair values. On August 1, 2017, White Mountains purchased 37,409 newly-issued preferred shares of Buzzmove for GBP 4.0 million (approximately $5.0 million based upon the foreign exchange spot rate at the date of acquisition) and 5,808 common shares from the company founders for GBP $0.5 million (approximately $0.7 million based upon the spot rate at the date of acquisition). White Mountains ownership share in Buzzmove as of September 30, 2017 was 77.1%. 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. On October 5, 2016, White Mountains received additional proceeds of $1.2 million following the release of the post-closing purchase price adjustment escrow. 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 6 — “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’s book value from sale of Tranzact |  | $ | 82.1 |
In the first quarter of 2017, White Mountains recorded a $1.0 million reduction to the gain from sale of Tranzact in discontinued operations as a result of state tax expense. 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. See Note 15 — “Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations”. 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. During the third quarter of 2016, there was a final true-up to Sirius Group’s tangible common shareholder’s equity that resulted in a $4.0 million reduction to the gain. During 2016, White Mountains recorded $363.2 million of gain from sale of Sirius Group in discontinued operations and $113.3 million in other comprehensive income from discontinued operations from Sirius Group. During the third quarter of 2017, White Mountains recorded a $0.8 million reduction to the gain from sale of Sirius Group as a result of a change to the valuation of the accrued incentive compensation payable to Sirius Group employees. 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. 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 within discontinued operations. See Note 15 — “Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations”. Sale of Symetra On February 1, 2016, Symetra Financial Corporation (“Symetra”) closed its merger agreement with Sumitomo Life Insurance Company (“Sumitomo Life”) and White Mountains received proceeds of $658.0 million, or $32.00 per common share. White Mountains also received a special dividend of $0.50 per share as part of the transaction that was paid in the third quarter of 2015. See Note 12 — “Investment in Symetra”.

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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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