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White Mountains To Acquire Sirius Insurance Group

HAMILTON, Bermuda: December 9, 2003 - White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE: WTM) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with ABB Ltd. to acquire the Sirius Insurance Group, an insurance and reinsurance organization based in Sweden, at a purchase price of SEK3.22 billion (approximately US$425 million).The purchase price is subject to a kronor-for-kronor adjustment to the extent that the total tangible shareholders' equity value of the acquired companies as of December 31, 2003 is greater or less than SEK3.566 billion (approximately US$470 million).

The principal Sirius International Group companies are Sirius International Insurance Corporation, Sirius America Insurance Company and Scandinavian Reinsurance Company Ltd. Sirius International, a Stockholm-based reinsurance company, is the largest reinsurance company in Scandinavia and has offices in Stockholm, London, Hamburg, Zurich, Belgium, and Singapore. Sirius International wrote approximately $400 million in net premiums in 2002. The company focuses mainly on property and other short-tailed lines and no longer writes financial insurance products. Sirius America, a US insurer focused on primary insurance programs since 2000, wrote $96 million of net premiums in 2002. Scandinavian Re is a Bermuda-based finite reinsurer that is in runoff.

The Sirius International Group has a large safety reserve that is considered Swedish regulatory capital (approximately $900 million at September 30, 2003) but is reduced by a deferred tax liability under US GAAP. Reserves on the Scandinavian Re finite book are carried at ultimate values for US GAAP prior to purchase accounting.

"This acquisition leverages all the strengths of the White Mountains organization. We delivered a clean exit from the business to ABB, we were able to do so quickly, we are adding a nice business to our family of property/casualty insurance and reinsurance companies and the transaction adds significant value for our shareholders," said CEO Ray Barrette. "Sirius' management has focused on property and other short-tailed lines of business, allowing them to avoid most of the legacy issues that other international reinsurance companies are facing today. This is an outstanding team that shares White Mountains' core belief that underwriting comes first," he added.

White Mountains expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2004. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

White Mountains is a Bermuda-domiciled financial services holding company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol WTM. Additional financial information and other items of interest are available at the Company's web site located at www.whitemountains.com.