Brown & Brown buys Irish brokerage

Brown & Brown Inc. has agreed to buy Cork, Ireland-based O’Leary Insurances Ltd., the brokerage announced Wednesday.

Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in January 2021, were not disclosed.

The acquisition is Brown & Brown’s first in Ireland and its first operation in Europe outside of the United Kingdom, a Brown & Brown spokeswoman said.

O’Leary Insurances is independently owned and has about 200 employees in eight locations throughout Ireland, according to a Brown & Brown statement.

Anthony O’Leary, managing director and majority shareholder of O’Leary Insurances, said in the statement: “We view Brown & Brown’s choice of an Irish company as their European gateway to be a strong endorsement of this country.”

Mr. O’Leary and other senior staff will remain with the company after the purchase and report to Barrett Brown, president of Brown & Brown Retail, the statement said.

The purchase will “establish Brown & Brown’s flagship in Ireland,” Mr. Brown said in the statement.