Holding company Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. has agreed to acquire 100% of specialty insurer and reinsurer, Vantage Group Holdings Ltd., for approximately $2.1 billion in an all-cash transaction, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Founded in 2020, Vantage has established itself as a global insurer and reinsurer, offering a diversified portfolio of global property and casualty (P&C) products supported by modern infrastructure and advanced analytics.
Expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, the acquisition of Vantage is poised to anchor Howard Hughes’ transformation into a diversified holding company.
The roughly $2.1 billion takeover, which represents 1.5 times estimated year-end 2025 book value and an implied ~1.4 times price-to-book-value multiple at closing, will be financed by $1.2 billion of cash on Howard Hughes’ balance sheet, and up to $1 billion of non-interest-bearing, non-voting preferred stock issued by Howard Hughes to Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (PSH), an investment holding company which owns approximately 28% of the common stock of Howard Hughes. In fact, Pershing Square Holdco, L.P., PSH, and other Pershing Square funds collectively own approximately 46.9% of the common stock of the firm.
The firm explains that it will receive a series of call options enabling it to redeem the PSH Preferred and acquire additional economic ownership of Vantage over the next, up to, seven years. Howard Hughes confirms that it expects to fully redeem the PSH Preferred and acquire a 100% economic interest in Vantage well within the initial seven-year term of the preferred. Further, were Howard Hughes to decide not to fully redeem the PSH Preferred, PSH has the right to cause a public listing of Vantage.
Bill Ackman, Executive Chairman of Howard Hughes, commented: “The acquisition of Vantage is a milestone event in the transformation of Howard Hughes into a diversified holding company. In Vantage, HHH obtains an exceptional diversified specialty insurance and reinsurance platform managed by an excellent and highly experienced team. The combination of Vantage’s insurance expertise and Pershing Square’s investment capabilities creates the opportunity to build a large, highly profitable insurance company and an important source of long-term value creation for Howard Hughes.”
Greg Hendrick, Chief Executive Officer of Vantage, said: “I’m excited about starting Vantage’s next chapter through this acquisition. With Howard Hughes’ permanent capital and long-term vision, we expect to strengthen our balance sheet and expand opportunities in specialty insurance, reinsurance, and partnership capital. After closing, we anticipate enhanced resources to fuel profitable growth, drive innovation, and deliver even greater value to brokers and clients over time.”
For Vantage, the expectation is that the new ownership will enable it to accelerate innovation, strengthen its balance sheet, and “continue delivering exceptional value to brokers and clients.”
The re/insurer explains that there are no planned expense synergies, and its operations, service standards, and client commitments would remain unchanged. Once the deal closes, Vantage says that it expects an injection of additional capital and an enhanced investment strategy with an allocation to Pershing Square’s long-term approach.
Vantage will continue to operate with the same name, brand, and culture, and its staff will retain the same roles, teams, and go-to-market strategy.
Jim Burr, Co-Head of Global Financial Services at Carlyle, a backer of Vantage and Jitij Dwivedi, Partner in the Financial Services team at Carlyle, said: “We are proud to have partnered with Greg Hendrick and the entire Vantage management team over the past five years and support the launch and build-out of the business. Together, we have built a top tier specialty insurance and re-insurance business, differentiated by its culture and tech-enabled underwriting platform, delivered strong earnings growth and diversified Vantage’s business model through innovative insurance-linked strategies. We think Howard Hughes will be a great home and wish Greg and the Vantage team continued success as it enters its next phase of growth.”
Vantage is also backed by Hellman & Friedman, and Adam Halpern-Leistner, Partner and Hunter Philbrick, Partner, commented: “We are so proud of what Greg and the team have built since we launched together in 2020. Today, Vantage is a high-quality insurance and reinsurance franchise with an excellent team and deep underwriting capabilities. We look forward to watching its continued growth and success in its next chapter.”
For Howard Hughes, the purchase of Vantage adds a higher-return, faster-growing insurance operation, ultimately accelerating the company’s overall growth profile while increasing and diversifying its sources of long-term value.
The holding-company ownership of Vantage also provides long-term capital support which will materially strengthen Vantage’s credit profile and underwriting flexibility, says the firm. “An emphasis on underwriting profitability—driven by disciplined risk selection, pricing, and portfolio optimization rather than growth—will improve Vantage’s ability to effectively navigate the insurance cycle and optimize asset allocation over time,” says Howard Hughes.
Additionally, it’s been confirmed that Pershing Square will manage Vantage’s assets on a fee-free basis, enhancing investment returns and furthering alignment with policyholders and shareholders. “No additional investment management or advisory fees will be paid to Pershing Square in connection with its role as investment manager of Vantage’s assets. Over time, Vantage’s investment portfolio will be directly invested in cash, short-term Treasurys, and a portfolio of common stocks subject to rating agency and regulatory considerations,” explains the holding company.
Ryan Israel, Chief Investment Officer of Howard Hughes Holdings, added: “If we achieve our objectives in running a profitable insurance operation and managing Vantage’s assets to generate highly attractive long-term rates of return, we believe that Vantage will generate high returns on equity for decades to come.
“We have structured the deal to enable Howard Hughes to acquire 100% legal ownership of Vantage today, and over time to increase its economic ownership to 100% in what we expect to be a highly accretive manner.”
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