Wilbur Ross, like Warren Buffett, has been making goo-goo eyes at bond insurers for some time. Ross has now made his move.

One of the smaller bond insurers, Assured Guaranty, has announced that Ross, known for making shrewd investments in distressed industries like steel, will invest as much as $1 billion.

There had been speculation that Ross was looking at a much bigger player, Ambac Financial, No. 2 to MBIA.

"The other ones by and large need capital simply to preserve their rating status," Ross said in an interview on CNBC. "Assured is one of the very few that's ranked as a strong, stable triple-A even without our capital."

Assured, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, said that Ross had agreed to buy $250 million of common shares of Assured and to provide a commitment to purchase up to $750 million of additional common shares "at the option of the company." Assured has a market value of $1.8 billion.

"This flexible capital source will allow us to continue to capitalize on the significant growth opportunities we see and will support our further expansion in both the direct and reinsurance markets," said Dominic Frederico, Assured's chief executive.

The bond insurers have come under pressure because of their business of guaranteeing credit derivatives whose underlying assets have deteriorated because of the collapse in subprime.

One insurer, Financial Guaranty Insurance, last week announced plans to split into two entities: one company insuring municipal bonds and the other handling a troubled structured-finance portfolio. Ambac is reportedly seeking to raise $2 billion in fresh capital. And MBIA has brought back Joseph Brown as its chief executive, replacing Gary Dunton.