Regions

Essent Group Ltd. is a mortgage insurer backed by investors including George Soros and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The insurer filed for an initial public offering (IPO) after investors had poured capital into companies that guaranty home mortgage.

Goldman Sachs, Barclays Plc and JP Morgan Chase & Co. were hired to manage the share sale of the company. This was according to a regulatory filing by the Bermuda based insurer yesterday. The proposed offering size for the IPO was valued USD287.5 million. This would be used as a placeholder amount to calculate registration fees and may change. The insurer's implied valuation was not included in the filing.

Essent's mortgage guarantee unit was established in late 2008. A year after, the company agreed to pay USD30 million for Triad Guaranty Inc's software and other assets.

According to a data compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, Essent had increased coverage sales of 9.2% this year from 5.2% a year earlier.