The ultimate policyholder (a joint venture between a global equity and investment manager and a private investment holding focused on retail and customer-oriented companies) approached Icen regarding its proposed acquisition of a large e-commerce logistics business based in Czech Republic and operating across Central Eastern Europe (CEE). Transaction timings were such that, when coupled with the sellers' unfamiliarity with W&I, it was determined to sign the transaction without insurance and obtain cover thereafter with the benefit of enhanced due diligence and additional time.

The buyer required recourse against the sellers, whilst at the same time the proposal was to retain the management team at the target business (which included a number of the sellers). With both transaction parties agreeing that insurance should be arranged post-signing, the SPA was written with Warranty & Indemnity Insurance as a Completion deliverable.

Icen Risk was familiar with the buyer, having insured them in the past, so we were comfortable to provide a detailed quotation prior to the deal signing and our policy enabled them to achieve their signing objectives. By opting to delay inception of their W&I cover until after signing, the buyer was able to prepare more extensive due diligence which ultimately enabled them to secure broader cover than would have been available prior to signing due to the more limited materials that were available at signing.