PARIS, Feb. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cohen & Company Inc. (NYSE American: COHN) today announced that its controlled subsidiary, Cohen & Company Financial (Europe) S.A. (“CCFESA”), has successfully completed the second and final closing of its PriDe IV funds, with total commitments of €481.5 million. PriDe IV is the latest vintage in a series of funds focused on investing in Tier II capital instruments issued by small and mid-sized insurance companies with limited access to capital markets. The PriDe Program enables insurers to enhance their regulatory capital ratios, fund acquisitions or internal growth, optimize their reinsurance programs, and/or lower their weighted average cost of capital.

Lester Brafman, CEO of Cohen & Company, said, “We thank our investors for their confidence in our established expertise in navigating the insurance industry’s regulatory capital framework. This funding is a continuation of our extensive involvement in the global SME insurance market.”

Paul Vernhes, Managing Director of Cohen & Company’s European Asset Management platform, added, “The successful final closing of PriDe IV, our largest vintage ever in this space, solidifies our leading position as a regulatory capital provider to small and mid-sized insurance companies in Europe. This achievement, secured despite a challenging market environment, highlights the robustness of insurance subordinated debt, the attractiveness of our funding solutions for issuers, and investors’ continued confidence in Cohen & Company’s deep expertise in the global insurance market.”

Alma Capital and Bury Street Capital played a pivotal role in PriDe IV’s success, raising a substantial portion of total commitments. Alma Capital raised 43% of total commitments through its distribution channels, while Bury Street Capital secured 31%, underscoring strong collaboration and a shared vision.

Henri Vernhes, Founder and CEO at Alma Capital, commented, “We are proud to continue our long-term partnership with Cohen & Company on this landmark fund. The strong performance and clear strategy presented by the PriDe IV team made it an attractive opportunity for investors, and we are confident in its future success.”

Robert Drake, Managing Director at Bury Street Capital, added, “Our participation in PriDe IV reflects our commitment to investing in high-caliber opportunities that deliver significant value. We look forward to the continued success of this partnership.”

The successful closing of PriDe IV comes as Cohen & Company continues to manage a busy period of transactional activity, including the closing of six significant insurance-related transactions during the fourth quarter of 2025.

Cohen & Company has been a leading investment specialist in the insurance market, having deployed approximately $5 billion across 226 insurance companies worldwide through various funds managed or advised by its subsidiaries. In Europe alone, Cohen & Company has deployed €1.8 billion in 72 insurance companies located in 18 different countries.

A Reed Smith team led by Baptiste Gelpi (Partner, Paris) with Audrey Minnie has assisted Cohen & Company and Alma Capital in setting up PriDe IV funds. “We are delighted to have assisted our clients in setting up this new vintage and its series of funds. It shows that a robust legal framework is the bedrock of success, no matter the legal complexity.”

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any security or of any fund or account. 

About Cohen & Company

Cohen & Company is a financial services company specializing in an expanding range of capital markets and asset management services. Cohen & Company’s operating segments are Capital Markets, Asset Management, and Principal Investing. The Capital Markets segment consists of sales, trading, gestation repo financing, new issue placements in corporate and securitized products, underwriting, and advisory services, operating primarily through Cohen & Company’s subsidiaries, Cohen & Company Securities, LLC (“Cohen Securities”) in the United States and Cohen & Company Financial (Europe) S.A. in Europe. A division of Cohen Securities, Cohen & Company Capital Markets (“CCM”) is the Company’s full-service boutique investment bank providing capital markets and SPAC advisory services to corporations, financial sponsors, investors, and institutions. The Capital Markets business segment also includes investment returns on financial instruments that the Company has received as consideration for investment banking and new issue services provided by CCM. The Asset Management segment manages and services assets through investment funds, managed accounts, joint ventures, and collateralized debt obligations. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had approximately $1.4 billion of assets under management in primarily fixed income assets in a variety of asset classes including European bank and insurance trust preferred securities, debt issued by small and medium sized European, U.S., and Bermudian insurance and reinsurance companies, and servicing commercial real estate loans. The Principal Investing segment is comprised primarily of investments the Company has made for the purpose of earning an investment return rather than investments made to support its trading or other capital markets business activity. For more information, please visit www.cohenandcompany.com.

About Alma Capital

Alma Capital is one of the largest independent fund platforms with circa 3 billion € AUM, offering liquid alternative and long only UCITS as well as private assets strategies. We select independent and talented fund managers with proven track records and create EU regulated format funds on our platform. Our senior experienced sales team actively covers institutional and professional investors in major European markets.

About Bury Street Capital

Bury Street Capital (BSC) was established in 2005 and is a trusted partner to institutional alternatives managers and investors. The firm’s high-quality fund management client base and technical strengths have helped it develop close relationships with many of the world’s largest and most sophisticated investors. Increasingly BSC spends time with these very large investors devising strategies that specifically suit their investment goals and structures that meet their requirements from all perspectives.

About Reed Smith LLP

Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm, dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. Our long-standing relationships, international outlook, and collaborative structure make us the go-to partner for speedy resolution of complex disputes, transactions, and regulatory matters.