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Insurance sector M&A activity up in 2021

Posted On: Feb. 14, 2022 10:59 AM CST

M&A

There were 418 completed mergers and acquisitions worldwide in the insurance sector in 2021, up 2.7% from 407 the previous year, according to a report released Monday by law firm Clyde & Co.

The Americas was again the most active region for M&As, with 224 deals, an annual increase of 17%. The U.S. recorded 180 deals for the year, its highest total since 2015, Clyde said.

Europe’s 125 deals marked a 21% increase, while Asia Pacific saw a 44% drop in activity, from 75 deals in 2020 to 42 last year. Deal-making also dropped off in the Middle East and Africa, with only 17 deals in 2021, down 47% from 32 in 2020.

There were  25 “mega-deals” in excess of $1 billion in 2021 compared with 20 in 2020.

The second half of 2021 saw more deals overall, 221, than the 197 in the first six months of the year.

“The volume of insurance M&A activity worldwide picked up notably in 2021,” despite the pandemic continuing to shape the economic and political landscape, Ivor Edwards, head of Clyde & Co's European corporate insurance group, said in a statement with the report.

Clyde tabbed technology as a driver of deals.

In addition to insurers and reinsurers being willing to buy, fund or partner with technology companies, some insurtechs, particularly in the U.S., have grown to the point where they are considering acquisitions