Business Moves

Yardi, Multifamily Insurance Group

Santa Barbara, Calif.-based real estate management software firm Yardi has acquired Dallas-based Multifamily Insurance Group (MIG) in a move that allows it to provide renters insurance to its property owner clients.

Yardi will now offer insurance coverage through MIG’s ResidentShield for personal liability, personal property and living expenses for losses caused by fire, theft and other unexpected events, according to Gordon Morrell, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Yardi.

The company said MIG principals Trip Stanford and Mike Composono have joined Yardi’s newly-formed insurance division.

MIG has sells renters and liability insurance for apartment residents via its insurance program, ResidentShield. Yardi Systems offers real estate investment management and property management software.

Momentous, Archer Weiss

Van Nuys, Calif.-based Momentous Insurance Brokerage entered into a partnership to become an exclusive partner of business and personal lines insurance for Archer Weiss, a provider of individual and group health plans based in the San Fernando Valley.

In addition to health insurance, Archer Weiss offers business and personal insurance through its network of insurance brokers.

Momentous Insurance Brokerage is an Insurance Journal Top 100 Agency and is also a top 25 firm for personal lines. Momentous serves Los Angeles County.

Transatlantic, National Indemnity

Transatlantic Holdings opened talks with a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway over a $3.2 billion takeover offer, adding a new twist in the battle for the reinsurer. The Berkshire unit, National Indemnity, entered into a confidentiality agreement with Transatlantic, according to Transatlantic.

Transatlantic already has an all-stock $2.9 billion deal to merge with Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings Ltd. It is also facing a hostile $2.9 billion cash-and-stock takeover offer from Validus Holdings Ltd.

The move could force these other Transatlantic suitors to sweeten their bids, and possibly unleash a bidding war for the New York-based reinsurance company.

Allied World and Validus have both seen the value of their bids fall, thanks to the stock in the purchase price.

The Validus bid, which at one point was nearly $400 million better than the Allied offer, has lost all its premium, thanks to adverse investor reaction to its bid and broader market turmoil.

Transatlantic first entered into a deal with Allied World in June, but its plans hit a hurdle when a month later Validus came in with an offer of its own.

At the time each was made, the Allied World offer was worth $3.2 billion and the Validus offer was worth $3.5 billion.

Early last month, as the values of Allied World’s offer fell, Buffett’s lieutenant Ajit Jain jumped in with its $3.2 billion cash bid. Transatlantic rejected Berkshire’s offer as too low but said the bid could lead to a superior proposal, and offered to open talks if Berkshire signed a confidentiality agreement.

Transatlantic said the terms of the confidentiality agreement with National Indemnity are substantially similar to the terms of the agreement it entered into with Allied World. Notably, the agreement includes a standstill provision, which had become a point of contention with Validus and led the Bermuda reinsurer to take its bid directly to Transatlantic’s shareholders.

Validus has since sued Transatlantic, but also offered its own books for review in an effort to raise pressure on Transatlantic to open talks with it. (Copyright 2011 Reuters)

National Financial, DA Financial

New York-based insurance broker National Financial Partners Corp. has acquired DA Financial Group of San Francisco, Calif., for an undisclosed amount.

With annualized revenue of $5 million, DA Financial has provided benefits, financial planning and insurance services for 50 years. Now part of the NFP Corporate Client Group, the business will operate as NFP DA Financial and John Hohman will continue to manage its operations. The Corporate Client Group provides corporate and executive benefits, retirement plans and property/casualty insurance.

NSM Insurance Group, AFPD

Geof McKernan, CEO of Philadelphia-based NSM Insurance Group, announced the acquisition of AFPD, a national program administrator for lawyers and dentist E&O programs, based in Long Island, N.Y. AFPD is a program administrator for lawyer’s and dentist’s professional liability programs across the U.S.

McKernan said the acquisition of AFPD would expand NSM’s “footprint to include lawyers and dentist professional liability and strengthen our relationship with our carrier partners.”