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Latest acquisitions keep broker consolidation trend rolling

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Latest acquisitions keep broker consolidation trend rolling

The acquisition last week of brokerage Integro Ltd. by private equity firm Odyssey Investment Partners L.L.C. continues the pace of consolidation in the brokerage space and should provide Integro with growth opportunities.

Julie Herman, associate director of insurance rating at Standard & Poor's Corp. in New York, called the move “a classic private equity buyout of a middle-market insurance agency.”

• PHOTO GALLERY: MERGER MANIA

Just last month another broker, AssuredPartners Inc., was acquired by private equity firm Apax Partners L.L.P.

The move by Odyssey to buy Integro will give the broker greater chance to grow.

“It will likely provide a better platform for Integro to grow and expand the business organically and through acquisition,” said Tim Cunningham, managing director at Chicago-based investment banking and consulting firm Optis Partners L.L.C.

New York-based Integro was founded in 2005 and serves over 125 countries from more than 40 offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Bermuda.

The firm's specialty practices include energy, trade and logistics, health care, entertainment, professional services, aviation, reinsurance and benefits consulting, according to the statement.

Integro management will remain in place, and certain members of the management team and other employees will remain shareholders in the company.

Terms of the transaction, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, were not disclosed.

Shareholders of Integro that control approximately 70% of the shares entitled to vote on the acquisition have entered into voting agreements with the acquiring entities affiliated with Odyssey.

“Odyssey is an ideal partner as we build on the powerful platform our early investors helped us put in place,” William Goldstein, president of Integro, said in the statement announcing the deal. “Odyssey's resources and industry expertise will help accelerate the growth trajectory of our core business and specialty acquisitions.”

“Integro is an extraordinary success story, and we are committed to supporting its continued development, particularly around its specialty offerings,” Jeffrey McKibben, a managing principal of New York-based Odyssey Investment Partners, said in the statement.

After the abrupt departure of co-founder Peter Garvey in May 2014, Integro named John Clements chairman of the board of directors and Rocco J. Nittoli as vice chairman to succeed Mr. Garvey.

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