View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2021/04/07/608757.htm
London-based broker the Ardonagh Group has launched Ardonagh Global Partners (AGP), a unit focused on international mergers and acquisitions.
Its first acquisition in the United States, AccuRisk Solutions, follows on the heels of recent purchases in the UK and Australia.
AGP’s strategy is to invest in leading platforms operating in attractive markets and product verticals outside of the UK and Europe and will sit within Ardonagh’s new International platform, said the company in a statement.
Following refinancing in the summer of 2020, Ardonagh said it has committed to invest £155 million ($215 million) in M&A.
AGP will be led by Des O’Connor, who ran a successful buy-and-build strategy as CEO of Bravo Group, the largest network of independent insurance brokers in the UK which became part of Ardonagh in 2020.
AGP then detailed its recent acquisitions for which financial terms were not disclosed.
AGP said it agreed today to acquire U.S. healthcare and benefits managing general underwriter, AccuRisk, in a joint venture with the Amynta Group.
Based in Chicago, AccuRisk specializes in medical stop loss, occupational accident and supplemental health products for small and mid-sized businesses, Ardonagh said, noting that the U.S. medical stop loss market has rapidly expanded from $10 billion in 2010 to $24 billion in 2020, as employers look for alternatives to the fully insured market.
AccuRisk also has expanded into the captive and ancillary service lines as these markets have significant U.S. growth opportunities. Ardonagh said the AccuRisk acquisition will allow it to enter the strategically important U.S. market.
In February 2021, AGP acquired Resilium Insurance Broking, Australia’s largest independently owned intermediary network. Resilium will act as the centerpiece of the company’s Australian operations and allow Ardonagh to leverage opportunities for the wider portfolio within Australia.
In March 2021, AGP bought UK-based M&A specialist broker Hemsley Wynne Furlonge, an M&A insurance broker which structures bespoke insurance solutions for transactional risks. It specializes in warranty & indemnity, tax, contingent risk, and environmental indemnity products. With offices in London and Germany, the business has grown substantially since its launch in 2014.
All three acquisitions have been funded through the group’s committed acquisition facility, the company said.
The Ardonagh Group was established in 2017 with the backing of majority shareholders HPS and Madison Dearborn Partners, two blue chip U.S.-based private equity groups. Ardonagh Group also owns such companies as Price Forbes, Thames Underwriting, and Towergate.
Source: The Ardonagh Group Ltd.