1 . General Arch Capital Group Ltd. ( ACGL ) is a Bermuda public limited liability company which provides insurance and reinsurance on a worldwide basis through its wholly owned subsidiaries. ACGL was formed in September 2000 and became the sole shareholder of Arch Capital Group (U.S.) Inc. ( Arch-U.S. ) pursuant to an internal reorganization transaction completed in November 2000, as described below. Arch-U.S. is a Delaware company formed in March 1995 under the original name of  Risk Capital Holdings, Inc.  Prior to May 5, 2000, Arch-U.S. provided reinsurance and other forms of capital for insurance companies through its wholly owned subsidiary, Arch Reinsurance Company ( Arch Re U.S. ), a Nebraska corporation formed in 1995 under the original name of  Risk Capital Reinsurance Company.  On May 5, 2000, Arch-U.S. sold the prior reinsurance operations of Arch Re U.S. to Sirius America Insurance Company , formerly known as White Mountains Reinsurance Company of America , in an asset sale, but retained its surplus and U.S.-licensed reinsurance platform. On November 8, 2000, following the approval of Arch-U.S.'s shareholders, Arch-U.S. completed an internal reorganization that resulted in Arch-U.S. becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of ACGL. In October 2001, the Company launched an underwriting initiative to meet current and future demand in the global insurance and reinsurance markets that included the recruitment of new management teams and an equity capital infusion of $ 763.2 million. As used herein, the  Company  means ACGL and its subsidiaries, except when referring to periods prior to November 8, 2000, when it means Arch-U.S. and its subsidiaries. Similarly,  Common Shares  means the common shares, par value $0.0 033 , of ACGL, except when referring to periods prior to November 8, 2000, when it means the common stock of Arch-U.S.