BFD Benfield Group

RNS Number:8627E
Benfield Group Limited
20 June 2006



20 June 2006


                             BENFIELD GROUP LIMITED


 Common Share Dealing Facility, Cashless Exercise Facility & Accelerated Global
                                     Tender


Benfield Group Limited ("'Benfield" or the "Company"), the world's leading
independent reinsurance and risk intermediary, today announces that employee
shareholders and Directors have sold 11,483,273 common shares (the "Shares")
through the common share dealing facility (the "Facility") referred to in its
announcement of 14 June 2006.  The Facility allowed employees to sell Shares
and, on a cashless basis, to exercise Share option awards granted over the
Company's Shares ("Options").


The Shares were placed in the market by Merrill Lynch International on 20 June
2006 at a price of 340p following completion of an accelerated book building
process.


The number of Shares sold in the Facility includes 1,953,535 Shares sold by
Directors and their connected persons.  The following Directors participated in
the Facility and sold the following number of Shares:


-         Paul Karon (1)       -   684,865 shares

-         Dominic Christian(2) -  569,826 shares

-         John Whiter(2) -  426,134 shares

-         The Greig Fester Group Employee (Guernsey) Trust

and the Greig Fester Group 1993 Employee (Guernsey) Trust (the "Trusts")(3) -
272,710 shares



In addition, Paul Karon has transferred 50,000 Shares to The Karon Family
Foundation, Inc, a charitable foundation to which neither Mr Karon nor any of
his connected persons is a beneficiary.



As part of the common share dealing facility, and subsequent to an announcement
of 14 June 2006 that Benfield intends to set aside up to #75 million to support
a further share buyback programme, Benfield today purchased for cancellation
7,350,000 Shares at a price of 340p per Share.



With effect from 18 June 2006 all restrictions on the transfer of common shares
in Benfield held by employees and ex-employees which were put in place at the
time of the Company's initial public offering in June 2003 have expired.



(1)       584,865 sold by Mr Karon and 100,000 shares sold by the Paul and Sarah
Karon Family Limited Partnership



(2)       Shares sold by Mr Christian and Mr Whiter in order to fund a cashless
exercise of Options in the Facility. As a result, Mr Christian and Mr Whiter's
shareholdings in the Company have risen to 609,913 Shares and 1,015,616 Shares
respectively.



(3)       Directors have a collective interest in Shares held by the Trusts



For further information, please contact:


Investors & Analysts
Julianne Jessup            Benfield                          +44 (0)20 7578 7000
Robert Bailhache           Financial Dynamics                +44 (0)20 7269 7200


Media
David Bogg                 Benfield                          +44 (0)20 7578 7000
Peter Rigby                Haggie Financial                  +44 (0)20 7417 8989



Benfield is the world's leading independent reinsurance and risk intermediary.
Its customers include many of the world's major insurance and reinsurance
companies as well as government entities and global corporations.   Benfield
operates from more than 40 locations worldwide. The company is listed on the
London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BFD.  www.benfieldgroup.com


This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an
offer or an invitation to acquire or dispose of any securities.  Neither this
announcement nor the information contained herein is an offer of securities for
sale in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.  The securities referred
to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act
of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act') and may not be offered or sold,
directly or indirectly, in the United States absent registration under the
Securities Act or an applicable exemption from registration.  No public offering
of the securities referred to herein will be made in the United States, the
United Kingdom or elsewhere.

Merrill Lynch International has been and will be acting for the Company in
connection with the Common Share Dealing Facilities and no one else and will not
be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections
offered to its clients nor for providing advice in relation to the above
transaction.  No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be
made as to, or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be
accepted by Merrill Lynch International or by any of its respective officers,
servants or agents as to or in relation to the accuracy or completeness of this
release, or any other written or oral information made available to any
interested party or its advisers and any liability therefore is hereby expressly
disclaimed.






                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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