Broker acquisition rate slips in first quarter
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Broker mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter of 2018 slipped 24% to 142 transactions, compared with 186 deals in Q1 2017, but it was still the fourth-highest quarterly total, Optis Partners L.L.C. said in a report Tuesday.
The first quarter of 2018 trailed the first quarter, second and fourth quarters of 2017, the report said.
Private equity/hybrid buyers, a classification of buyers that combines private equity-backed firms and privately owned firms, were the lead buyer segment during the quarter, completing more than 60% of total transactions.
The top five individual buyers for the quarter were all PE/hybrid buyers: Caledonia, Michigan-based Acrisure L.L.C. with 28; Chicago-based Hub International Ltd. with 13; Lake Mary, Florida-based AssuredPartners Inc. with 10; Deerfield, Illinois-based Alera Group with 8; and Columbus, Ohio-based BroadStreet Partners Inc. with seven transactions.
“Buyers remain very aggressive on valuations,” the report said, “and sellers continue to come out of the woodwork.”
The report said three major broker transactions of the year were USI Insurance Services L.L.C.’s acquisition of Key Insurance Benefit Services Inc.; Alliant Insurance Services Inc.’s announced agreement to buy Crystal & Company Inc., and BB&T Insurance Holdings Inc.’s announced acquisition of Regions Insurance Group Inc. from Birmingham, Alabama-based Regions Financial Corp.
The report said there was no obvious impact on the M&A market from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
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