BB&T Insurance Services said it plans to acquire Kentucky agencies, Old Colony Insurance Service (Louisville) Inc. and Cromwell Insurance Agency of Lexington. Cromwell is jointly owned by Old Colony and Ludt-Bell Inc.
The acquisition will expand BB&T’s presence in Kentucky and give it a significant share of the state’s valuable equine insurance business. The transaction is expected to be completed in May. Terms were not disclosed.
“A big part of our strategy around acquisitions has always been to follow the bank into newer markets,” said Wade Reece, president of BB&T Insurance Services. “This acquisition will allow us to execute on the corporation’s cross-selling strategy by bringing high quality insurance products to our valued BB&T clients in Kentucky.”
Old Colony was founded in 1975 by agency chief executive officer Daniel McMahan. McMahan was later joined by current owners Jimmy Dan Conner and Clinton L. Glasscock. Old Colony, with a full array of insurance products and services, is one of Louisville’s largest independent insurance agencies.
Old Colony expanded into the equine insurance business in 2000 by merging its Lexington office with the Lexington location of Cromwell Insurance, one of the oldest and best known blood stock insurance agencies in Kentucky. Old Colony and Cromwell have 75 employees combined and more than $150 million in annual premium volume.
“It’s hard to overstate the value in being able to offer insurance products to BB&T’s Kentucky clients from two well-known and established Kentucky agencies,” said McMahan, who will manage BB&T’s Kentucky insurance operation.
Cromwell president Tom Ludt will manage BB&T’s Lexington insurance operation. The Old Colony and Cromwell agencies will continue to operate with their combined group of employees in their current locations under the names BB&T-Old Colony Insurance and BB&T-Cromwell Insurance.
BB&T moved into Kentucky in 1999 with its acquisition of the former Matewan BancShares. Its 2002 acquisitions of MidAmerica Bancorp of Louisville and Owensboro-based AREA Bancshares Corporation moved BB&T from 32nd to third place in Kentucky market share with more than $5 billion in assets.
Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Agencies Agribusiness Kentucky
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