A newcomer to the specialty program insurance and alternativerisk transfer (ART) markets, SPARTA Insurance Holdings announcedthat it acquired an insurance company from OneBeacon on Friday.

Without disclosing terms of the deal, Hartford, Conn.-basedSPARTA said it acquired American Employers' Insurance Company, aninsurer licensed in 52 jurisdictions, from a subsidiary ofOneBeacon Insurance Company. OneBeacon is the Canton, Mass.-basedunit of White Mountain Group.

The acquired company will be renamed SPARTA Insurance Companyand will serve as the operating platform for a new specialtyprogram insurance and alternative risk transfer business. SPARTA isan acronym for Specialty Program and Risk Transfer Alternatives,signifying the company's intention to underwrite property andcasualty insurance for the specialty and alternative risk programmarketplaces.

George L. Estes III, the founder and former chief executiveofficer of Discover Re–a similar business operation–is leadingSPARTA as chairman and CEO.

The announcement about the acquisition comes just days after theholding company announced that it had closed its contractualarrangements for funding in the amount of $279.1 million of privateequity capital.

The capital came from a consortium of investors led by CorsairCapital, including Goldman Sachs, York Capital Management, PrimusCapital Funds and KBW Capital Partners.

In addition to Mr. Estes, SPARTA's founding officers includeother former Discover Re executives–Kevin G. Costello, who willserve as SPARTA's president and chief operating officer, and DawneE. Ware, who will be chief financial officer.

Discover Re, which started operating in the alternative risktransfer business in 1991, was acquired by USF&G in themid-1990s, ultimately becoming a unit of Travelers after USF&Gwas acquired by St. Paul (which later merged with Travelers).