Validus Holdings Completes Acquisition of Archer Daniels Midland Crop Risk Services Business

Validus Holdings, Ltd. (“Validus” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VR) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Archer Daniels Midland Company’s (“ADM”) (NYSE:ADM) Crop Risk Services business (“CRS”).

CRS is a primary crop insurance managing general agent based in Decatur, Illinois with $555.0 million gross premiums written in 2016 and 1,170 agents across 36 states.

Validus’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Noonan stated, “The acquisition of CRS is another important step in building our global specialty insurance business. Validus will benefit from CRS’s commitment to provide superior customer service to agents and farmers via their leading technology capabilities. We welcome CRS to Validus and look forward to working with ADM to continue offering a full range of crop insurance products, as well as ADM’s grain marketing services to our CRS customers.”

Joe Taets, President of ADM’s Agricultural Services Business Unit, stated, “We’re pleased to complete a transaction that advances our strategy by allowing ADM to partner with Validus to continue to offer CRS customers a full array of grain marketing products and services. We’d like to thank the CRS team for their service to ADM, and look forward to continuing to work with them and the rest of Validus.”

Under the terms of the transaction, ADM received $127.5 million in cash, subject to certain working capital and balance sheet adjustments, in exchange for 100% of the outstanding stock of CRS. The transaction includes a marketing services agreement under which ADM and Validus will continue to work together to offer a full range of insurance and farm products and services to CRS customers. CRS will operate as part of the Western World Insurance Group.

About Validus Holdings, Ltd.

Validus Holdings, Ltd. ("Validus") is a holding company for reinsurance and insurance operating companies and investment advisors including Validus Reinsurance, Ltd. (“Validus Re”), Talbot Underwriting Ltd. (“Talbot”), Western World Insurance Group, Inc. (“Western World”) and AlphaCat Managers, Ltd. (“AlphaCat”).

Validus Re is a global reinsurance group focused primarily on treaty reinsurance. Talbot is a specialty insurance group primarily operating within the Lloyd's insurance market through Syndicate 1183. Western World is a U.S. specialty lines insurance group focused on excess and surplus lines. AlphaCat is a Bermuda based investment adviser managing capital for third parties and Validus in insurance linked securities and other property catastrophe and specialty reinsurance investments.

About Crop Risk Services

Crop Risk Services (“CRS”) is a primary crop insurance managing general agent based in Decatur, Illinois. CRS was established in 1982 as ASI AgriServe Inc. In 2010, ADM acquired 100 percent of the shares of ASI, and the company became ADM Crop Risk Services.

CRS aims to provide farmers with affordable crop income protection, superior service and utmost integrity.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may include forward-looking statements, both with respect to the Company and its industry, that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Statements that include the words "expect", "intend", "plan", "believe", "project", "anticipate", "will", "may" and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such statements and, therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements. We believe that these factors include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events; 2) rating agency actions; 3) adequacy of Validus' risk management and loss limitation methods; 4) cyclicality of demand and pricing in the insurance and reinsurance markets; 5) statutory or regulatory developments including tax policy, reinsurance and other regulatory matters; 6) Validus' ability to implement its business strategy during "soft" as well as "hard" markets; 7) adequacy of Validus' loss reserves; 8) continued availability of capital and financing; 9) retention of key personnel; 10) competition; 11) potential loss of business from one or more major insurance or reinsurance brokers; 12) Validus' ability to implement, successfully and on a timely basis, complex infrastructure, distribution capabilities, systems, procedures and internal controls, and to develop accurate actuarial data to support the business and regulatory and reporting requirements; 13) general economic and market conditions (including inflation, volatility in the credit and capital markets, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates); 14) the integration of businesses Validus may acquire or new business ventures Validus may start; 15) the effect on Validus' investment portfolios of changing financial market conditions including inflation, interest rates, liquidity and other factors; 16) acts of terrorism or outbreak of war; and 17) availability of reinsurance and retrocessional coverage, as well as management's response to any of the aforementioned factors.

The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the risk factors included in Validus' most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other documents of the Company on file with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Any forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by Validus will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Validus or its business or operations. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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Investors:Validus Holdings, Ltd.Investor.Relations@ValidusHoldings.com+1-441-278-9000OrMedia:Brunswick GroupCharlotte Connerton / Mustafa Riffat+1-212-333-3810

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