Back to Newsroom
Back to Newsroom

Insurance Agency Mergers and Acquisitions in Q1 Show that Hot M&A Market Continues, OPTIS Partners Reports

Thursday, 11 April 2019 02:00 PM

OPTIS Partners

CHICAGO IL / ACCESSWIRE / April 11, 2019 / There were 151 announced insurance agency mergers and acquisitions during the first quarter of 2019, according to OPTIS Partners' M&A database. That was one more deal than was announced in Q1 2018.

The data covers U.S. and Canadian agencies selling primarily property-and-casualty insurance, agencies selling both P&C and employee benefits, and those selling only employee benefits. The report breaks down buyers into four groups: private equity-backed/hybrid brokers, privately held brokers, publicly held brokers, and all others.

Patriot Growth Insurance Services led all buyers with 18 transactions during the quarter, including 17 closed deals to kick-off their new venture. Other top buyers were Acrisure (16), Hub (12), Gallagher (10), and Broadstreet Partners (10).

Timothy J. Cunningham, managing director of OPTIS Partners, an investment banking and financial consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry, and Daniel P. Menzer, CPA, a partner with the firm, say:

  • There are no signs of any changes in buyer or seller behavior, both in terms of appetite for transactions and valuations of agencies for sale.
  • Individual quarterly totals can fluctuate dramatically from one period to the next and are not necessarily indicative of the overall M&A activity level
  • There were only 57 unique buyers in 2019, the lowest number in any first quarter since 2014.
  • Acquisitions in Canada have increased from 1-2% of the total 10 years ago to 6-8% now.

The full report can be read at http://optisins.com/wp/2019/04/march-2019-ma-report.

OPTIS (www.optisins.com) was ranked as the fourth most active agent-broker M&A advisory firm in 2017 and 2018 and the fifth most active in 2014, 2015 and 2016 by SNL Financial.

Focused exclusively on the insurance distribution marketplace, Chicago-based OPTIS Partners offers merger & acquisition representation for buyers and sellers, including due-diligence reviews. It provides appraisals of fair market value; financial performance review, including trend analysis and internal controls; and ownership transition and perpetuation planning.

Contact:

Tim Cunningham, OPTIS Partners, [email protected], 312-235-0081
Dan Menzer, OPTIS Partners, [email protected], 630-520-0490
Henry Stimpson, Stimpson Communications, 508-647-0705, [email protected]

SOURCE: OPTIS Partners

Topic:
Mergers and Acquisitions
Back to newsroom
Back to Newsroom
Share by: