M&A is Hotter Than Ever Among Agencies
The Numbers Tell The Story
An eye-opening OPTIS Data announcement reports 151 announced insurance agency mergers and acquisitions during the first quarter of 2019, i.e. one more deal than was announced in Q1 2018.
The data covers U.S. and Canadian agencies selling primarily property-and-casualty insurance, agencies selling both P&C and employee benefits, and those selling only employee benefits. The report breaks down buyers into four groups: private equity-backed/hybrid brokers, privately held brokers, publicly held brokers, and all others.
According to OPTIS, Patriot Growth Insurance Services led all buyers with 18 transactions during the quarter, including 17 closed deals to kick-off their new venture. Other top buyers were Acrisure (16), Hub (12), Gallagher (10), and Broadstreet Partners (10). Timothy J. Cunningham, managing director of OPTIS Partners, an investment banking and financial consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry, and Daniel P. Menzer, CPA, a partner with the firm, say:
- There are no signs of any changes in buyer or seller behavior, both in terms of appetite for transactions and valuations of agencies for sale.
- Individual quarterly totals can fluctuate dramatically from one period to the next and are not necessarily indicative of the overall M&A activity level
- There were only 57 unique buyers in 2019, the lowest number in any first quarter since 2014.
- Acquisitions in Canada have increased from 1-2% of the total 10 years ago to 6-8% now.
We present the data reports from OPTIS that explain plainly what is happening on Main Streets among agencies. SA
*The full report can be read at http://optisins.com/wp/2019/04/march-2019-ma-report.
Focused exclusively on the insurance distribution marketplace, Chicago-based OPTIS Partners offers merger & acquisition representation for buyers and sellers, including due-diligence reviews. It provides appraisals of fair market value; financial performance review, including trend analysis and internal controls; and ownership transition and perpetuation planning.
