White Mountains to Buy Unit of CGNU

White Mountains Insurance Group Inc., a Bermuda-based company run by the former head of Geico Inc., agreed to buy CGNU’s U.S. property and casualty insurance business for about $2.6 billion. White Mountains will pay $2.4 billion in cash, and CGNU will receive an additional $200 million in stock or cash six months after the purchase is completed, said Michael Paquette, the company’s controller. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett plans to invest as much as $300 million in White Mountains as part of the transaction, he said. London-based CGNU has been selling businesses, including a German property and casualty unit, since its creation in May after the merger of British insurers CGU and Norwich Union. This sale represents “a clean-cut exit from the difficult operating environment of the U.S. property and casualty market,” said CGNU Chief Executive Bob Scott. White Mountains shares surged $37.63 to close at $212.13 on the New York Stock Exchange.