Cinven and GIC Complete Purchase of UK Broker Miller from Willis Towers Watson

March 1, 2021

Cinven, the international private equity firm, and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, have completed the acquisition of leading specialist insurance and re/insurance broker, Miller, from Willis Towers Watson.

The acquisition was first announced in November 2020. Although financial details of the deal were not disclosed, Bloomberg reported that the deal values the business at about 680 million pounds ($947 million), according to people familiar with the matter.

In a February 2020 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, WTW announced that it was considering “strategic alternatives” with respect to Miller. WTW purchased an 85% stake in Miller 2015. The sale of Miller reportedly was deemed necessary in order to address antitrust concerns of the proposed merger of Aon and WTW.

Founded in 1902, Miller operates in the UK, Lloyd’s and internationally. It employs more than 640 people through its offices in London, Ipswich (England), Brussels, Paris, Singapore and Geneva, covering the world’s major insurance hubs. Miller operates across a number of specialist areas, including marine, energy, credit and political risks, delegated authorities, professional risks, property, casualty, sports and entertainment and re/insurance.

Headquartered in London, it places approximately £2 billion worth of premiums annually.

“Today marks the start of a new phase of growth. From this point onwards you will begin to see us make precise strategic investments as we look to establish Miller as the leading independent specialist re/insurance broking firm for clients across the specialist sectors in which we choose to do business. This includes expanding our offering in Asia, Europe and North America, alongside recruiting and incentivising highly skilled specialist brokers to add to the depth of our existing talent base,” commented Greg Collins, CEO, Miller..

“With expanded Miller management ownership in the business, we will be making targeted investments in the business, including enhancing our technology to sharpen our digital capabilities. Independent ownership is absolutely the right model to really accelerate Miller’s growth, whilst staying true to the culture and values the firm holds dear,” he added.

Cinven Funds’ previous investments in the European insurance sector include Guardian Financial Services in the UK, Eurovita in Italy, and Viridium in Germany. Other UK-headquartered financial services investments by the Cinven Funds include Partnership Assurance, NewDay and Premium Credit. GIC has invested in companies such as Rothesay and RAC in the UK, Convex in London and Bermuda, Mass Mutual Asia in Hong Kong, and China Pacific Insurance Group in China.

Source: Cinven

Topics Agencies Willis Towers Watson

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