The billionaire investor is hoping his cash infusion will strengthen Assured Guaranty's position in the turbulent industryIt's certainly not as cheap as his prior ventures into troubled industries, but Wilbur Ross' proposed $250 million investment in Assured Guaranty (AGO) could be just as lucrative if the wave of consolidation he expects in the financial guaranty sector materializes.
In a conversation with BusinessWeek on Feb. 29, the billionaire indicated that Assured could use the new capital to grow its business by re-insuring blocks of business from other industry players – or through acquisitions.
It's more common for the investor in distressed companies to pounce when a target firm is already in or teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, when he can pick it up for a song. That's not the case with Assured, which has largely avoided the shaky portfolio investments that have plagued larger rivals MBIA Inc. (MBI) and Ambac Financial Group (ABK) in recent months.
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