GREENLIGHT CAPITAL RE LTD
For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Mar 10, 2025.
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FY2024 · Filed Mar 10, 2025
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Risks Relating to Our Innovations Strategy
The carrying values of our Innovations investments may differ significantly from those that would be used if we carried these investments at fair value. Additionally, we have a material concentration in our top five holdings at December 31, 2024.
Our Innovations investments include private investments and unlisted equities in early-stage or start-up entities for which no active market may exist. We carry these investments on our consolidated balance sheets at cost, less impairment, plus or minus observable price changes (see “Critical Accounting Estimates- “Investments” under “Part II, Item 8. Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”). These carrying values may differ significantly from those that would be used if we carried them at fair value. If we were required to liquidate all or a portion of these investments quickly, we could realize significantly less than the carrying value. The carrying value of our Innovations investments may become concentrated in a limited number of entities as a result of subsequent remeasurement and/or have significant exposure to certain geographic areas or economic sectors. The concentration of investments can increase investment risk and volatility. At December 31, 2024, our top five holdings accounted for 70% of the total carrying value. Any of the foregoing could result in a decline in our investment performance and capital resources and, accordingly, could materially and adversely affect our financial results and results of operations.
Our Innovations investments carry higher risks due to illiquidity.
We invest in illiquid equity and debt instruments of early-stage companies in our Innovations investments portfolio. Furthermore, our Innovations investments are generally subject to restrictions on redemptions and sales that limit our ability to liquidate these investments in the short term. As such, there is a high liquidity risk due to the lack of active markets. We may not be able to sell timely, or at all, illiquid holdings of early-stage companies facing significant challenges operationally and financially subsequent to our initial investment (see below “Investments in privately held early-stage companies involve significant risks”). Accordingly, this could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our Innovations investments support our underwriting operations and the failure to identify and consummate investment opportunities may materially and adversely affect our ability to implement our business strategy.
We operate in a competitive market for Innovations investment opportunities. Many of our competitors have considerably greater resources than we do. If we fail to compete for or otherwise lose the opportunity to make Innovations investments, which support our underwriting strategy, our ability to implement our business strategy may be materially and adversely impacted.
Investments in privately held early-stage companies involve significant risks.
Our Innovations unit primarily invests in privately held early-stage companies. Investments in privately held early-stage companies involve a number of significant risks, including the following:
these companies may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their operating obligations;
they typically have limited operating histories, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and market conditions, as well as general economic downturns;
they typically depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons. Therefore, the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse effect on such investment and, in turn, on us;
they may not have adequate internal controls which would make them susceptible to fraud or mismanagement;
there is generally little public information about these companies. These companies and their financial information are generally not subject to the Exchange Act and other regulations that govern public companies, and we may be unable to uncover all material information about these companies, which may prevent us from making a fully informed investment decision and cause us to lose money on our investments;
they generally have less predictable operating results and may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position;
changes in laws and regulations (including applicable tax laws), as well as their interpretations, may adversely affect their business, financial structure or prospects; and
they may have difficulty accessing the capital markets to meet future capital needs.
Economic recessions or downturns could impair our Innovations investment and harm our operating results.
The current macroeconomic environment is characterized by high inflation, supply chain challenges, labor shortages, high interest rates, foreign currency exchange volatility, volatility in global capital markets and growing recession risk. The risks associated with our Innovations investments and the businesses of the entities in which we have invested are more severe during periods of economic slowdown or recession.
Many of our Innovations investments may be susceptible to economic downturns or recessions. Therefore, during these periods the carry values of our Innovations portfolio may decrease if we are required to write down the values of our investments. Adverse economic conditions may also decrease the value of our investments. Economic slowdowns or recessions could lead to financial losses in our Innovations portfolio and a decrease in revenues, net income and assets.
Our Innovations investments are made in entities that may incur debt or issue equity securities that rank equally with, or senior to, our investments in such companies.
Our Innovations investments are made in entities that have, or may be permitted to incur, other debt, or issue other equity securities, that rank equally with, or senior to, our investments. By their terms, such instruments may provide that the holders are entitled to receive payment of dividends, interest or principal on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments in respect of our investments. These debt instruments would usually prohibit the investments from paying interest on or repaying our investments in the event and during the continuance of a default under such debt. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of an entity, holders of securities ranking senior to our investment typically are entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any distribution in respect of our investment. After repaying such holders, the entity may not have any remaining assets for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of securities ranking equally with our investments, we would have to share on an equal basis any distributions with other security holders in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of the relevant entity.
As a minority equity investor, we are often not in a position to influence the entity, and other equity holders and management of such entity may make decisions that could decrease the value of our investment in such entity.
When we make a minority equity investment through our Innovations segment, we are subject to the risk that an entity may make business decisions with which we disagree. The other equity holders and management of the entity may take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests. As a result, an entity may make decisions that could decrease the value of our investment.
Our Innovations investments are in entities that may be highly leveraged.
Some of our Innovations investments are made in entities that may be highly leveraged, which may have adverse consequences for those companies and for us as a shareholder. The entity may be subject to restrictive financial and operating covenants and their leverage may impair the ability to finance their future operations and capital needs. As a result, such entity’s flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions and to take advantage of business opportunities may be limited.
Our failure to make follow-on investments in our existing Innovations investments could impair the value of our portfolio.
Following an initial investment in an entity, we may make additional investments in the entity as “follow-on” investments to: (1) increase or maintain in whole or in part our equity ownership percentage; (2) exercise warrants, options or convertible securities that we acquired in the original or subsequent financing or (3) attempt to preserve or enhance the value of our investment.
We may elect not to make follow-on investments, be constrained in our ability to employ available funds, or otherwise lack sufficient funds to make those investments. We have the discretion to make any follow-on investments, subject to the availability of capital resources. The failure to make follow-on investments may, in some circumstances, jeopardize the continued viability of an entity, dilute our investment, or result in a missed opportunity for us to increase our participation in a successful operation. Even if we have sufficient capital to make a follow-on investment, we may elect not to make it because we may not want to increase our concentration of risk, we prefer other opportunities, or we are constrained under the Investment Company Act. See “–Risks Relating to Insurance and Other Regulations – We are subject to the risk of possibly becoming and investment company under U.S. federal securities laws.”
Risks Relating to Our Ordinary Shares
Our ability to achieve our business objectives depends on our ability to manage and deploy capital.
Our ability to achieve our business objectives depends on our ability to manage and deploy capital, which depends, in turn, on our management’s ability, with oversight from our Board of Directors, to identity, evaluate and monitor our underwriting and investment results, our liquidity and competing needs for capital. We cannot assure you that our management and deployment of capital will enable us to achieve our business objectives, and our failure to effectively manage and deploy our capital could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our level of debt may have an adverse impact on our liquidity, restrict our current and future operations, particularly our ability to respond to business opportunities, and increase our vulnerability to adverse economic and industry conditions.
At December 31, 2024, we had $60.7 million of debt outstanding that matures on August 1, 2026. Our level of debt and the provisions of such debt could have significant consequences, which include, but are not limited to, the following:
limit our ability to obtain additional financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, or other general corporate purposes;
require a substantial portion of our cash flows to be dedicated to debt service payments instead of other purposes, thereby reducing the amount of cash flows available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes;
discourage an acquisition of us by a third party;
place us at a competitive disadvantage to competitors carrying less debt; and
make us more vulnerable to economic downturns and limit our ability to withstand competitive pressures or take advantage of new opportunities to grow our business.
We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance our indebtedness debt upon maturity on acceptable terms or at all.
A shareholder may be required to sell its ordinary shares.
Our Articles provide that we have the option, but not the obligation, to require a shareholder to sell its ordinary shares for their fair market value to us, to other shareholders or to third parties if our Board of Directors determines that ownership of our ordinary shares by such shareholder may result in adverse tax, regulatory or legal consequences to us, any of our subsidiaries or any of our shareholders and that such sale is necessary to avoid or cure such adverse consequences.
Provisions of our Articles, the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands (the “Companies Act”) and our corporate structure may each impede a takeover, which could adversely affect the value of our ordinary shares.
Our Articles contain certain provisions that could make it difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so would be beneficial to our shareholders. Our Articles provide that a director may only be removed for “cause” as defined in the Articles, upon the affirmative vote of not less than 50% of the votes cast at a meeting at which more than 50% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are represented. Further, under the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of Greenlight Re, a director may only be removed without cause upon the affirmative vote of not less than 80% of the votes cast at a meeting at which more than 50% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are represented.
Our Articles permit our Board of Directors to issue preferred shares from time to time, with such rights and preferences as they consider appropriate. Our Board of Directors may authorize the issuance of preferred shares with terms and conditions and under circumstances that could have an effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction, deny shareholders the receipt of a premium on their ordinary shares in the event of a tender or other offer for ordinary shares and have a depressive effect on the market price of the ordinary shares.
As compared to mergers under corporate law in the United States, it may be more difficult to consummate a merger of two or more companies in the Cayman Islands or the merger of one or more Cayman Islands companies with one or more overseas companies, even if such transaction would be beneficial to our shareholders. For example, a merger or consolidation generally requires the consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest, unless the court waives such requirement, and a formal declaration must be made, meeting enumerated requirements, if the transaction involves a foreign company or where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company.
The Companies Act also includes statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies, provided that such a scheme of arrangement is approved by (i) in respect of shareholders, 75% in value of the shareholders or each class of shareholder who attend and vote, either in person or by proxy, at a meeting or meetings convened for that purpose; or (ii) in respect of creditors, a majority in number representing 75% in value of creditors or each class of creditors who attend and vote, either in person or by proxy, at a meeting or meetings convened for that purpose.
The convening of the scheme meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder has the right to express to the court the view that the transaction ought not to be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it determines that:
| ● | the company is not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of its corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with; |
| ● | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question and the classes properly delineated; |
| ● | the scheme of arrangement is such as a businessperson would reasonably approve; and |
| ● | the scheme of arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority”. |
If a scheme of arrangement is thus approved, the dissenting shareholders would have no rights comparable to appraisal
rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of a Delaware corporation.
Holders of ordinary shares may have difficulty obtaining or enforcing a judgment against us, and they may face difficulties in protecting their interests because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.
We are an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and conduct a majority of our operations outside the United States. A significant amount of our assets are located outside the United States. A majority of our officers and directors reside outside the United States and substantial portion of the assets of those persons are located outside of the United States. As a result, it could be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals outside of the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed upon under the applicable securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands could render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.
Our corporate affairs are governed by our Articles, the Companies Act and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take legal action against our directors and us, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, which has persuasive, but not binding, authority on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under the laws of the Cayman Islands are not as clearly defined as under statutes or judicial precedent in existence in jurisdictions in the United States. Therefore, you may have more difficulty protecting your interests than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States, due to the comparatively less well developed Cayman Islands law in this area.
Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies such as ours have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records and accounts or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders. Our directors have discretion under our Articles to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
The courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. Although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, the judgment must be obtained in a court of law which had jurisdiction over the judgment debtor, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings, including if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
We are not aware nor have we been advised of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. Generally, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply including, for example, in circumstances in which those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed, and may have a direct right of action against us in circumstances where our Board of Directors exercise their powers for an improper purpose (or are about to exercise their powers for an improper purpose).
Subject to limited exceptions, under Cayman Islands law, a minority shareholder may not bring a derivative action against our Board of Directors.
We do not intend to pay dividends on our ordinary shares and, consequently, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common shares.
We do not intend to declare and pay dividends on our ordinary shares for the foreseeable future. Therefore, you are not likely to receive any dividends on your ordinary shares for the foreseeable future. The success of an investment in our ordinary shares will depend upon any future appreciation in their value. There is no guarantee that our ordinary shares will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which our shareholders have purchased their shares.
In the event that we did declare a dividend, such dividends and other distributions on issued and outstanding ordinary shares may only be paid out of the funds of the Company lawfully available for such purpose. Dividends and other distributions will be distributed among the holders of our ordinary shares on a pro rata basis.
The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.