Markel Corp. is acquiring Nephila Holdings Ltd., one of the largest investment managers specializing in reinsurance risk. Nephila will complement Markel's existing businesses, and along with Markel CATCo Investment Management Ltd. (Markel CATCo), will further solidify Markel's lead position as one of the largest alternative capital managers. Markel's capitalization will decline, but we expect retained earnings to help rebuild its capital strength to 'AA' redundancy over the next two years. As a result, we are affirming our ratings on Markel and its core operating subsidiaries, including our 'BBB' long-term issuer credit rating on the company. The stable outlook reflects our expectation of very strong capitalization and a strong competitive position. On Aug. 31, 2018, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BBB'
