PE firm buys retail brokerage

Private equity firm HGGC LLC on Wednesday said it has acquired Woodland Hills, California-based retail brokerage PCF Insurance Services LLC for an undisclosed amount.

With 400 staff, PCF provides commercial and personal lines and employee benefits products to more than 40,000 customers across the United States, HGGC said in a statement.

Under the deal, management, employee owners and existing investor BHMS Investments LP have retained minority stakes in PCF, HGGC said.

PCF has completed 18 acquisitions since 2018, expanding beyond California, into New York, Illinois, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky and Florida, HGGC said in the statement.

“Our proven ability to partner with portfolio companies to help them scale and drive strategic acquisitions will support PCF in building on its existing success, which includes growing more than 17x since 2017,” Steve Young, HGGC co-founder and president, said in the statement.

In addition to M&A, the deal will position PCF to further build out its platform and continue to grow organically by leveraging its strong producer base and relationships with blue-chip insurers, HGGC said.

HGGC also owns Davies Group Ltd., a London-based claims management and insurance services firm that has made a growing number of U.S. acquisitions in the past year.

“The commercial brokerage market is large and stable, with significant room for consolidating despite increased M&A activity in recent years,” John Block, partner at HGGC, said in the statement.