Posts Tagged

M&A

U.S. insurance carrier Travelers in August 2018 acquired a reported 60% stake in Canadian insurtech broker Zensurance. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Zensurance offers online commercial lines broker services and will continue to work independently. Founded in 2016, Zensurance creates segmented insurance packages for each industry. It says it has more than 2,500 clients in Canada and works with over 40 insurers. Zensurance CEO Danish Yusuf and CTO Sultan Mehrabi keep

U.S. insurance carrier Allstate in August 2018 acquired identity theft services company InfoArmor for $525 million. Allstate’s stated intent is to grow its employee benefits business. According to Tom Wilson, Chairman, President and CEO of Allstate, in 2017 “there were over 16 million victims of identity fraud [in the U.S.], which resulted in over $16 billion of losses.” InfoArmor is a private company with headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. Its

German HR consulting firm Lurse in August 2018 announced the acquisition of the business interest of one of the partners of pension software provider Deutsche Pensions Group (DPG) who is retiring, while majority shareholders Ulrich Mix and Dr. Otmar Stüpp stay with the company. DPG will continue to be managed independently and be headed by Mr. Mix. A member of the Worldwide Broker Network (WBN), Lurse is an HR

Marsh & McLennan (MMC)’s health, wealth and career consulting arm Mercer in August 2018 acquired the investment consulting, alternatives consulting and wealth management operations of Pavilion Financial. Pavilion is a global investment services firm with about 300 employees, headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada. It has offices across North America, in London, U.K., and in Singapore. In the U.S., Pavilion focuses on the defined contribution (D.C.), endowment and foundation, healthcare and

Conduent, itself a 2017 Xerox spinoff, in May 2018 announced and in August 2018 completed the spin-off of its consulting business formerly known as Buck Consultants. Private equity investment firm H.I.G. Capital acquired Conduent’s human resources consulting and outsourcing businesses in the U.K. and in Canada as well as its U.S. human resources consulting and actuarial business, forming again what once was actuarial firm Buck Consultants. The new-old firm

Aegon in August 2018 sold the last block of its life reinsurance business to French reinsurer Scor Global Life. Aegon’s U.S. subsidiary Transamerica will reinsure an additional USD 700 million of liabilities through Scor Global Life. In December 2017, Aegon had agreed to divest USD 750 million of life reinsurance liabilities to Scor. It also dissolved a related captive insurance company. Technically, Aegon’s Transamerica life subsidiaries reinsured about half

French social protection group Apicil in August 2018 acquired Luxembourg-based individual life insurance carrier OneLife from its owner, U.S. private equity firm J.C Flowers. Apicil has a €2.4 billion turnover and specializes in health and life insurance, pensions, as well as savings and financial services. As a paritarian institution, Apicil is akin to a mutual that is co-managed by trade unions and employers’ representative bodies. Headquartered in Lyon, France,

Gallagher in July 2018 acquired employee benefits, group retirement, and individual insurance broker and consultant Belton Boisselle in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada). Belton Boisselle has clients across Western Canada, primarily in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The broker provides group benefit and retirement plans, individual life and living benefits, as well as investment strategies. Belton Boisselle president Roger Belton, president of group benefits and pensions Kasey Boisselle, and their associates will stay

British insurtech firm Bought By Many in July 2018 raised £15 million (approximately USD 20 million) when insurance broker Marsh announced it was investing in the peer-to-peer insurtech startup firm. Bought by Many’s concept is bringing together groups of insurance buyers via its online platform and getting better terms and/or perks from insurance carriers for these blocks of clients. To date, the website offers standardized coverage for individuals, sole

Risk Strategies, a privately held U.S. brokerage and risk management firm, in July 2018 acquired Oxford Risk Management Group, a Sparks, Maryland-based provider of alternative risk and captive insurance and consulting. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Established in 2010, Oxford Risk Management Group specializes in conducting captive feasibility analysis, coordination and management of turn-key captive insurance company arrangements, both domestically and internationally. The company is led by

Generali in July 2018 sold Generali Worldwide Insurance Company and Generali Link to Life Company Consolidation Group (LCCG). LCCG is based in London and owns Utmost Wealth Solutions and Reliance Life. Utmost, a provider of international savings, protection and investment solutions into the UK, Continental Europe and Asia, operates from Ireland and the Isle of Man. It manages over £22bn of assets. Reliance Life is a London-based run-off manager

Assicurazioni Generali in July 2018 sold an 89.9% stake in Generali Leben life insurance to a partnership which includes Viridium Gruppe and Hannover Re.  Viridium is owned by London-based private equity firm Cinven (80%) and global German reinsurer Hannover Re (20%). Generali Leben is valued at up to € 1 billion, including €125 million as earn-out in case of changes in the rules regulating the allocation to ZZR1 technical

Fueled by large life deals, the U.K. insurance sector saw more mergers and acquisitions activity in the first half of 2018 than in either the full year of 2017 and 2016, according to consultant Ernst & Young (EY). U.S. Tax Reform One of Many Drivers Telecommunications, automotive and healthcare top the list of sectors for deals with the highest value, with strong levels of UK/U.S. M&A expected to continue,

AIA Group in July 2018 completed the acquisition of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s life insurance businesses in Australia and New Zealand. According to AIA Group regional chief executive Bill Lisle, the acquisition will significantly transform and expand the company’s presence in New Zealand. The combined business, according to Lisle, will transform AIA’s scale and reach to become the market leader in New Zealand’s life insurance market. In September 2017,

Global broker Gallagher in July 2018 announced the acquisitions of three firms: Chicago-based Reassurance Holdings, including its subsidiaries Coverdell and Carefree Marketing. Founded in 1963, Coverdell is a licensed insurance broker, discount medical plan organization and third-party administrator, providing direct marketing of insurance and membership programs to many of the largest financial services institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Vince Di Benedetto and his associates will continue to work

Next Insurance in July 2018 raised $83 million in new financing, money it said will fuel its continued U.S. expansion as a full-service digital insurance carrier focused on the small business market. A California-based startup, Next Insurance debuted in 2016 as a digital insurance agency for small to midsize businesses. The new financing will allow Next to add more lines of insurance. The firm changed its agency status in

MassMutual’s international insurance holding company MassMutual International and Nippon Life, Japan’s leading life insurer, have announced the completion of the sale of 85.1 percent of MassMutual Japan, its Japanese life insurance and wealth management subsidiary, to Nippon Life. The transaction was first announced in March 2018. MassMutual International will retain 15 percent of the company and receive approximately JPY 104.2 billion (about USD 955 million) in cash. MassMutual Japan

American International Group (AIG) and Munich Re in June 2018 announced that AIG Life Ltd. (AIGLL), a UK subsidiary of AIG Life & Retirement, has agreed to acquire Ellipse, a specialist provider of group life risk protection in the UK, from Munich Re. Ellipse’s group protection products, which include life, critical illness and income protection, along with its technology-enabled business model with high levels of straight through processing (STP),

AXA in June 2018 announced it had sold its UK whole-of-market intermediary, The Health Insurance Group (THIG), to U.S. private equity firms Highbridge Principal Strategies and Madison Dearborn Partners. Acquired by AXA in 2008, The Health Insurance Group provides individual and corporate health and well-being products. Highbridge Principal Strategies and Madison Dearborn Partners already own several UK broking brands, including The Ardonagh Group. A “whole of market intermediary” is

ANZ Bank New Zealand in June 2018 announced that Cigna will acquire OnePath Life for NZ$700 million. According to ANZ, the transaction is made at a “slight premium to embedded value and is expected to generate a gain on sale of around NZ$50 million.” The agreement also includes a 20-year partnership whereby Cigna will provide insurance policies for ANZ bank customers. ANZ said it intends for all staff involved

WellCare Health Plans in June 2018 announced that it has acquired Meridian Health Plan of Michigan, Meridian Health Plan of Illinois, and MeridianRx, a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) for $2.5 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2018. Meridian expects to generate more than $4.3 billion in total revenue in 2018. As a result of this transaction, WellCare will diversify its Medicaid portfolio through the addition of Michigan state, where

Gallagher in May 2018 announced several acquisitions in the United States and England to bolster its retail property/casualty brokerage operations and employee benefits consulting services. Simi Valley, California-based Thomas Costello Insurance Agency is a retail property/casualty broker, and employee benefits consultant and broker, offering commercial and personal coverages to clients primarily across Southern California. Tom Costello and his associates will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of Scott

Swiss Re and SoftBank in May 2018 agreed to end discussions about a potential minority investment of SoftBank in Swiss Re. No explanation was given. However, SoftBank was originally considering a stake of up to 33%, as well as several seats on the Swiss Re board of directors, whilst Swiss Re said the holding would probably not exceed 10%. GBV had reported SoftBank’s push to increase its revenue stream

French life/health mutuals Humanis and AG2R La Mondiale in May 2018 announced they would merge their employee savings activities. French “employee savings” plans (“plans d’épargne salariale”) come under two guises, PEE  – Plan d’épargne entreprise (“corporate savings plans”) and PERCO – Plan d’épargne pour la retraite collectif (“group pension savings plan”), and are tax-advantaged, employer-sponsored investment vehicles run by, but legally separate from, insurance groups or banks. Tax advantages

Aon is reported to have made an offer to acquire French broker SIACI Saint Honoré (SSH). SSH caters to the needs of corporations and SMBs. Since 2015, SSH is controlled by venture capital firm Ardian which owns 57% of the firm. Managers control a further 23% and Edmond de Rothschild 20%. SSH chairman Pierre Donnersberg in late April 2018 denied any plans to sell. Instead, SSH is looking to

AIA Hong Kong in May 2018 announced a partnership with online health care services firm We Doctor. AIA’s customers will gain preferred access to WeDoctor’s healthcare services including appointment, online consultation and offline clinics, as well as its network of 2,700 hospitals, 220,000 doctors, and over 15,000 pharmacies in 30 provinces across China. AIA will become WeDoctor’s preferred provider of life and health insurance solutions. WeDoctor has over 110

Allianz in May 2018 finalized the sale of part of its Taiwan business’s traditional life insurance portfolio to China Life Insurance. The deal had been announced in January 2018. The portfolio includes around $1.4 billion of reserves in guaranteed interest contracts (GIC) that carry a 4 percent or higher guarantee. Under the Solvency II (S2) regime, GICs are particularly expensive in terms of capital requirement, especially when market rates