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Brokers ring in the New Year with a flurry of acquisitions

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2012 isn't a week old, yet broker acquisition activity has already picked up in the new year. During the past week, at least three deals involving major brokerages have been announced.

Chicago-based Hub International Ltd. announced not one but two acquisitions this week. On Thursday, Hub announced that it had acquired the assets of Patrion Insurance Services, a Riverside, Calif.-based insurance brokerage in a deal of which the terms were not disclosed.

According to Hub, Patrion, an affiliate of Altura Credit Union, will become part of the California operations of Hub International Insurance Services and operate out of Hub's existing office in Riverside.

“As a full service agency, Patrion offers a complete range of personal, commercial, and employee benefits products and services to a client base throughout southern California,” said Hub in its announcement. In addition, the transaction calls for Hub establishing a strategic partnership with Altura Credit Union to support the insurance and risk management needs of their members.

A day earlier, Hub said that it acquired the assets of Pullman, Wash.-based Associated Independent Agencies, Inc. The Associated Independent Agencies operation will become part of Hub International Mountain States Ltd.

Hub said that Associated Independent Agencies is one of the largest independent brokerages in eastern Washington and western Idaho, with 14 additional locations besides its Pullman headquarters throughout the region. The operation “offers personal, commercial and employee benefits solutions, with a deep niche in serving the insurance and risk management needs of small businesses, including the crop industry,” said Hub in its announcement.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Meanwhile, Itasca, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Inc. in Albany, N.Y., this week. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Capital Bauer Insurance Agency is a retail insurance broker providing property/casualty, employee benefits and risk management insurance services for its commercial and personal lines clients throughout the United States. The agency specializes in placing coverage for the real estate, public entity, higher education, recording studio and water well drilling industries, said Gallagher in its announcement.

Capital Bauer Insurance Agency's geographic location will be “a significant addition to our current presence in upstate New York, and their specializations will be a terrific fit with our niche expertise in the Eastern Region,” said Gallagher President and CEO J. Patrick Gallagher Jr. in the announcement.