US investment guru Warren Buffett is to inject three billion Swiss francs (£1.8bn; $2.6bn) into the world's second largest reinsurer Swiss Re.
Mr Buffett already owns 3% of Swiss Re, which he bought a year ago.
The news came as the Swiss company warned investors they should expect a net loss of one billion francs for 2008 as funds have been hit by writedowns.
Swiss Re also said that it may consider raising a further two billion francs on the capital markets.
Mr Buffet has made a series of investments as the economic downturn has continued to bite.
Last week motorcycle firm Harley-Davidson secured $300m from the 78-year-old Berkshire Hathaway chief.
"Disappointed"
Towards the end of last year Mr Buffet bought $5bn of shares in US investment bank Goldman Sachs, which needed additional funds to improve its finances.
Swiss Re has had a difficult time recently and reported a surprise third-quarter loss of 304m Swiss francs in November. Analysts had been expecting a profit.
"We are disappointed with our overall results in 2008, but our core business is performing well," said Swiss Re chief Jaques Aigrain.
The company has made losses on contracts sold to protect clients against drops in fixed-income securities.
So far this year, its stock has declined some 40%.
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