Argonaut Announces Acquisition of Front Royal

Argonaut Group Inc. (the 'Argonaut') (Nasdaq:AGII) announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Front Royal Inc., an insurance holding-company headquartered in Morrisville, N.C., for $165.0 million in cash. Argonaut anticipates the transaction will be accretive to earnings per share from the first year. It is expected that the transaction, which has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is subject to various regulatory and other consents and approvals, will be completed in the third quarter of 2001. According to press releases, Front Royal wrote $147.1 mi...