Apax to sell insurance broker AssuredPartners to GTCR Group
AssuredPartners acquires and invests in P&C and other insurance-brokerage businesses across the U.S. and in London.
A group led by the private equity firm GTCR LLC agreed to buy a majority stake in AssuredPartners Inc., the U.S. insurance broker from Apax Partners.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, Apax said in a statement on Thursday. The deal would value the broker at about $5.1 billion including debt, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Related: Insurance agency mergers & acquisitions hit record level in 2018, Optis says
Private equity firms are drawn to insurance brokerages because they have strong cash flow and tend to perform well through economic cycles. Also, brokerages operate in a fragmented industry, allowing for consolidation. KKR & Co. agreed this month to buy a stake in Swedish insurance broker Soderberg & Partners.
More than $1.1 billion in annualized revenue
Founded in 2011, Lake Mary, Florida-based AssuredPartners acquires and invests in property & casualty, employee benefits, surety and other insurance-brokerage businesses across the U.S. and in London. The firm’s annualized revenue is more than $1.1 billion, according to its website.
GTCR was co-founded by Bruce Rauner, who served as Illinois governor from 2015 to 2019. Since its founding in 1980, the firm has has invested more than $15 billion in more than 200 companies and taken more than 40 of them public, according to its website.
GTCR announced last week that it had completed its acquisitions of Ultimus Fund Solutions and The Gemini Cos., which it’s combining to form an administration and accounting service for fund managers.
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