BB&T buys stake in London broker from Willis
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BB&T Corp. will acquire a 16.9% stake in Miller Insurance Services L.L.P. from Willis Group Holdings P.L.C. in a move which BB&T says will enhance its offerings to its insurance brokerage clients.
The move comes four months after Willis completed its purchase of an 85% interest in London specialty brokerage. Willis will continue to hold 68.1% of Miller and the London broker's management will retain a 15% stake, according to a BB&T statement on Friday.
BB&T, which will make the investment through its BB&T IHC International Ltd. subsidiary, owns the world's 6th largest insurance brokerage, BB&T Insurance Holdings Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina. Willis is the world's third largest insurance brokerage, according the Business Insurance's latest ranking.
“Miller has been a strong and valuable partner. We are pleased to be able to deepen our relationship through an ownership stake and enhance BB&T Insurance's overall customer value proposition and offering,” John Howard, vice chairman and CEO of the wholesale and specialty division of BB&T Insurance Holdings, said in the statement.
Mr. Howard was recently named chairman and CEO of BB&T Insurance Holdings Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2016 when current chairman and CEO H. Wade Reece retires. The move is BB&T's first direct investment in the London market, he said.
The insurance unit of banking parent BB&T Corp. reported brokerage revenue of $1.71 billion in 2014, an 8.3% increase, making it the No. 6 broker in the 2015 Business Insurance ranking of the world's largest brokers.
BB&T Insurance Holdings Inc. is also the largest non-specialist wholesale brokerage in Business Insurance's latest rankings, with $739.7 million in 2014 wholesale revenue
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015, the statement said.
