Skyward Specialty Agrees to $555M Buy of Apollo Group From PE Firm Alchemy

Skyward Specialty Insurance Group said it has a definitive agreement with the majority sellers to acquire 100% of Lloyd’s insurer Apollo Group Holdings Ltd. from private equity firm Alchemy for a total of $555 million in a mix of cash and shares in Skyward Specialty.

Apollo is a U.S-centric specialty underwriting platform operating at Lloyd’s of London.

Houston-based Skyward Specialty said the acquisition is well aligned with its strategy, bringing new specialty niches, a distinctive new economy offering, accelerating innovation, and adding Apollo’s advanced technology capabilities.

David Ibeson, Apollo CEO since 2012, will join Skyward Specialty with Apollo’s management team and lead the Apollo business.

Apollo has grown gross written premium at a compound annual growth rate of about 20% since its 2010 formation, Skyward Specialty said. Through Syndicate 1969, Apollo underwrites a multi-class specialty insurance portfolio. Through Syndicate 1971, also known as Apollo ibott, Apollo delivers a platform liability product for the digital and sharing economy. In addition, Apollo provides about 27% of the capital to syndicates 1969 and 1971 in exchange for a pro-rata share of the underwriting income, with the remainder of the capital provided by third parties. Additionally, Apollo earns managing agency fees and profit commissions for being the managing agent to both its own syndicates, as well as to third-party syndicates, known as Platform Partners.

Skyward Specialty Chairman and CEO Andrew Robinson said Apollo’s “underwriting leadership and unique market positioning are exceptionally well-matched to Skyward Specialty’s strengths and vision and fit with our strategy to ‘Rule Our Niche.’

“Apollo’s Syndicate 1969 will provide access to attractive and hard-to-reach specialty classes including political violence, product recall, specialty disruption and other related specialty classes. Leveraging the unique capabilities of Syndicate 1971, Apollo will further enhance our portfolio with unique and innovative solutions designed for new economy industries. Most importantly, the strategic and cultural alignment between the two organizations is exceptional and sets the stage for future opportunities.”

Alchemy employees and strategic investors will receive $184 million of stock consideration. The remaining $371 million will be paid in cash, with committed debt financing in place.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.