Latest Mergers & Acquisitions Headlines
All the headlines from our Mergers & Acquisitions Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Allstate, Encompass Partner for Agents
Dec 2 2004 // To better serve independent insurance agencies, The Allstate Corp. is integrating its three independent agency brands under its Encompass independent agency organization, forming one combined sales organization dedicated...
Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Completes Acquisition of Vt.-based Smith, Bell & Thompson
Dec 2 2004 // Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company announced the completion of the previously announced acquisition of the stock of Smith, Bell & Thompson Inc., a Vermont-based managing general underwriter (MGU) with 2003 revenue of...
Sandy Spring Bank to Acquire Md. Agency
Dec 2 2004 // Sandy Spring Bank, a subsidiary of Sandy Spring Bancorp, announced that Sandy Spring Insurance Corporation has reached an agreement to acquire certain assets & liabilities of Wolfe & Reichelt Insurance Agency,...
$126M Ga. Agreement Could Pave Way for Anthem-WellPoint Merger
Nov 30 2004 // Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and Anthem Inc. have reached an agreement in which Anthem will pledge $126 million to improve rural health care for the poor in Georgia – in return, Oxendine agreed to...
W. Va. Gov. Reports Flood Funding
Nov 26 2004 // West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise recently announced that the Disaster Recovery Board approved more than $3.8 million to assist West Virginians who have experienced repetitive flooding. “The money distributed through the...
Axa Reported in Serious Talks with Credit Suisse to Acquire Winterthur
Nov 26 2004 // A report from the Financial Times indicates that France’s Axa Group is in serious discussions with Credit Suisse to acquire Winterthur, the banking group’s insurance division. Credit Suisse had dropped hints...
Wellington Completes Acquisition of AXA’s U.S. Surplus and Excess Units; Best Assigns ‘A-‘ Rating
Nov 26 2004 // The U.K.’s Wellington Underwriting plc. announced that it has completed the purchase of AXA Corporate Solutions Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance Company, first announced on June 25, 2004. The bulletin noted that...
BB&T Eyeing Langan Insurance Agency, Its Fourth Kentucky Acquisition
Nov 26 2004 // The Lousville-based Langan Insurance Agency is being acquired by BB&T Insurance Services of Raleigh, N.C. Lagan has 41 employees. According to Wade Reece, BB&T president, Bill Roby Sr., Langan president and Tom...
U.S.I. Holdings Acquires Benefit Partners
Nov 23 2004 // U.S.I. Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq: USIH) of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. has acquired Nashville, Tenn.-based Benefit Partners of America. The acquisition is expected to contribute approximately $4 million of revenues to USI on...
Pa. Bank Acquires Md.’s Russell Agency
Nov 22 2004 // ACNB Corporation, a bank holding corporation based in Gettysburg, Pa., has agred to acquire the Russell Insurance Group, Inc., a full-service insurance agency in Maryland. Based in Westminster, Md, with a satellite office...
Industry Under Fire: Will Insurance Broker M&As Still Keep Pace’
Nov 22 2004 // Will pending investigations of insurance brokers halt the robust pace of the industry’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity? In mid-October 2004, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed a civil...
ANTHEM, WELLPOINT GET MERGER APPROVAL FROM CDI:
Nov 22 2004 // Anthem Inc. and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. announced that John Garamendi, Commissioner of the California Department of Insurance (CDI), has granted his approval for their pending merger. In July of this year, the...
CNA Surety Sells Minority Interest in DeMontfort Group
Nov 16 2004 // Chicago-based CNA Surety Corp. announced that the company tentatively has agreed to sell all of its financial interest in U.K.-based DeMontfort Group Ltd. to HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. The agreement covers CNA...
HCC to Acquire United States Surety
Nov 16 2004 // Houston-based HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. announced it has reached an agreement to acquire United States Surety Company (USSC) for an undisclosed consideration payable in HCC shares. The transaction is subject to signing a...
Best Assigns Debt and IC Ratings to PartnerRe
Nov 12 2004 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has assigned a debt rating of “bbb” to Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd.’s $200 million 6.5 percent Series D Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares. It also assigned PartnerRe...
S&P Rates PartnerRe Preferred Stock Issue ‘BBB+’; Affirms Rating, Stable Outlook
Nov 11 2004 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has assigned its “BBB+” preferred stock rating to Bermuda-based PartnerRe Ltd.’s (PRE’s) proposed $200 million Series D Cumulative...
Two Southeast States Could Reconsider Anthem/WellPoint Merger
Nov 11 2004 // Georgia and West Virginia are two southeast states that could reconsider their earlier approval of the Anthem Inc./WellPoint merger, after California’s $265 million concessions package in California. Seven other...
Curley Group Buys Williams Insurance Agency
Nov 11 2004 // Curley Insurance Group, a Dallas based independent agency, announced it recently purchased the Williams Insurance Agency, located in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas. The Williams Agency specializes in personal and small...
Anthem and WellPoint Announce Merger Approval by CDI
Nov 9 2004 // Anthem Inc. and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. announced that John Garamendi, Commissioner of the California Department of Insurance (CDI), has granted his approval for their pending merger. In July of this year, the...
HANCOCK BANK TO BUY RKW:
Nov 8 2004 // Hancock Bank of Gulfport, Miss., will acquire property and casualty insurance agency Ross-King-Walker Inc. (RKW) of Hattiesburg, according to company officials. The purchase will be an all-cash transaction and is expected...
