Assured Guaranty to Get a $1 Billion Boost from Wilbur Ross

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace )-- Assured Guaranty Ltd (NYSE: AGO) is the subject of a generous offer from American investor Wilbur L Ross, who will be buying up to $1 billion of the troubled bond insurer’s stock.

Due to the recent subprime mortgage crisis, bond insurance companies have felt the squeeze as defaults rise, leading some to even lose their triple-A ratings. Assured wasn’t hit quite hard as some of the larger companies, like MBIA and Ambac Financial, which was part of the reason why Ross decided to make his investment with the smaller bond insurer.

In interviews, Ross has said that Assured Guaranty was one of the most stable companies in the industry, and that future consolidations among bond insurers will weed out the stragglers to strengthen the market.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that illustrates the corporate ties between Ross and Assured that could have helped influence his final decision. By also expanding the Knowledge Map to included Ross’s other important ties, we can gain some additional insight into why this billionaire investor will prove to be such a strong asset for Assured.

The strongest connection links Ross to Assured through a combination of corporate leadership relationships and company ownership. Ross is the Chairman and Founder of International Coal Group Inc, which claims substantial ownership of Odyssey Re Holdings where Assured Guaranty Director Patrick W Kenny serves on the Board of Directors. Similar connections through World Air Holdings and AIG could also have served to spark Ross’s interest in Assured.

This Knowledge Map also illustrates some of Ross’s key corporate connections as well as his relationships to various non-profit organizations and educational institutions. With a long career in corporate leadership in various industries and companies, the experience and network that Ross holds could go far, in addition to his investment, in helping Assured rise through the ranks in bond insurance and ultimately be one of the few that successfully gets through the subprime crisis.

Click here or copy this link into your Internet Explorer browser for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=6f04b8ba-7ee9-4dd9-8031-31e43efe5ecf

See article from the New York Times DealBook