Genworth completes IPO for mortgage insurance subsidiary

Henrico County-based Fortune 500 insurer Genworth Financial Inc. completed the once-delayed initial public offering of its mortgage insurance subsidiary, Raleigh, North Carolina-based Enact Holdings Inc., it announced Monday. Between the IPO and a private sale of shares, Genworth received aggregate net proceeds of about $535 million after underwriters’ fees but before other expenses.

Genworth Holdings Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Genworth Financial Inc., sold 15.3 million shares of Enact common stock, including underwriters fully exercising their overallotment option to purchase almost 2 million shares, at a price of $19 per share. Enact is now trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “ACT.”

Genworth had initially filed a proposed IPO for Enact with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in April before delaying the process in May. The company announced the IPO’s launch on Sept. 13, and the SEC declared the registration statement effective on Sept. 15.

Investment funds managed by Coral Gables, Florida-based Bayview Asset Management LLC purchased 14.66 million shares of Enact stock in a concurrent private sale at the IPO price per share, minus the underwriting discount.

The shares sold in the IPO and private sale totaled 29.92 million. Genworth’s ownership of Enact decreased from 100% to 81.6%.

In April, Genworth formally terminated its long-delayed $2.7 billion acquisition by China-based Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd. The company had first mentioned in January the possible IPO of its mortgage insurance business, describing it as a contingency plan if the Oceanwide acquisition fell through.

Genworth plans to use the net proceeds from the transactions to retire in full the outstanding balance on its promissory note with French insurance firm AXA and partially repay other outstanding debts, according to a news release.

Genworth reported $178 million in 2020 net income. The company has about 5,000 employees