The two insurance companies reached an agreement on February 4 on the key financial terms of a possible proposed cash offer for Zurich to acquire 100% of Beazley, and Zurich has now been granted permission to extend the PUSU deadline by more than two weeks.
The “put it up or shut up” (PUSU) deadline was initially set for Monday 16 February 2026, meaning Zurich had until 5pm (London time) on that day to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Beazley, or to announce that it had no intention of making such an offer.
Beazley said in a recent statement: “As anticipated in the joint statement, Zurich has begun a period of confirmatory due diligence and, with the support of the Beazley board and management, this process is proceeding as planned. The parties are concurrently discussing the detailed terms of the transaction and preparing final transaction documents. Accordingly, the Beazley board has requested an extension of the PUSU deadline and the acquisition panel has agreed to an extension of the PUSU deadline.”
As a result, PUSU’s deadline has been extended to March 4, 2026, giving Zurich until 5pm (London time) that day to confirm its intention to make an offer or announce that it will not make an offer to acquire the specialist insurer.
Back in January, it was reported that Beazley’s board rejected multiple proposals from Zurich between 2025 and 2026, explaining that they believed the proposals significantly undervalued the company.
Zurich returned an improved proposal on February 4, 2026, increasing its offer for Beazley shares to 1,335 pence per share, an offer currently being discussed by the two companies.
