New Joint Venture Agreement

14 November 2018

Wilmington plc

("Wilmington" or the "Group")

New Joint Venture Agreement

50:50 Joint Venture with The Digital Insurer PTE. Ltd  in Singapore

New product offering for Axco insurance information business will strengthen insurance insight

Wilmington plc (LSE: WIL), the provider of information, education and networking services in Risk & Compliance, Professional and Healthcare knowledge areas, announces that Axco, the Group's insurance information subsidiary, has entered into a 50:50 joint venture ("JV") agreement with The Digital Insurer PTE. Ltd in Singapore. 

The JV, Axco Digital Insurer Ratings PTE. Ltd, will be based in Singapore and will develop a new product that will provide insurance industry participants with information on the new wave of Insurance Technology providers ("InsurTech") that are becoming increasingly important in the industry. 

InsurTech provides an exciting opportunity to enhance and, in some instances, disrupt traditional markets. The challenge for insurance market participants is to assess these new entrants and consider how they can best incorporate these new offerings into their current services. The JV will provide syndicated research that will allow subscribers to assess the various InsurTech participants, their services, market propositions and business potential.       

Wilmington will be investing up to US$260,000 in the venture of which US$250,000 will be in the form of a loan to the entity. The Digital Insurer PTE. Ltd is providing the technical capability to create the intellectual property on which the JV's products will be based. Both partners will use their complementary presence in the global insurance market to leverage business development for the JV.

The agreement provides the option for Wilmington to subscribe for further shares in the JV in the future, allowing it to become a subsidiary once the venture has proved its commercial success. In accordance with usual practice in such circumstances, the joint venture agreement provides that whilst the entity remains a 50:50 vehicle, any deadlock between the parties can be ultimately resolved through either party offering to sell its shares to the other or to buy the other's shares from it at the same price. Whilst this provision is uncapped in terms of the amounts involved, in the unlikely event of being triggered, it would not be expected to be material in a group context. 

Pedro Ros, Group CEO of Wilmington commented:

"We are delighted to be setting up this joint venture with The Digital Insurer. The product it will develop will enable us to provide a wider range of services to our current insurance clients as well as introducing us to new industry participants."

Hugh Terry, CEO of The Digital Insurer PTE. Ltd. commented:

"We look forward to working with Wilmington and Axco to deliver these innovative new products to the global insurance market. InsurTech is an exciting and fast-developing part of the insurance ecosystem and together we believe we will be able to offer insurance participants unrivalled insight into how to adopt the new offerings in the most effective way."

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Notes to Editors

Wilmington is the recognised knowledge leader and partner of choice for information, education and networking in Risk & Compliance, Professional and Healthcare areas. Wilmington employs close to 1,000 people and operates in 120 countries. Wilmington plc is a premium listed Company on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

The Digital Insurer has developed the world's largest knowledge based on digital insurance and works together with a community of more than 25,000 professionals to accelerate the digital transformation of insurance. The Digital Insurer is a private company and is based in Singapore.