A survey of insurance agencies in the United States and Canada shows that agency mergers and acquisitions hit an all-time high in 2012, according to a Chicago-based M&A advisory firm.
There were 291 reported agency M&A transactions in the United States and Canada, OPTIS Partners’ new annual survey found.
“Buyers were anxious to acquire and sellers equally anxious to complete their deals before capital gains tax rates went up in 2013,” said Timothy J. Cunningham, managing director of OPTIS, an investment banking and financial consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry.
The previous record was 284 in 2008; 2007 and 2011 tied for third with 279 deals. Privately owned agencies were still the biggest buyers, making 93 acquisitions compared to 101 in 2011. Banks bought 24 agencies, down from 37 in 2011, according to the survey.
The top three buyers last year were publicly owned broker Arthur J. Gallagher (30 deals), private-equity-backed firm Hub International (21) and PE-backed firm Confie Seguros (18), OPTIS Partners reported.
On the seller side, sales of P/C focused agencies continued to rise, to 109, and deals for agencies selling both P/C and employee benefits also rose, to 78. Sales of employee benefits agencies fell slightly, to 66.
While it’s unlikely the record-setting year will be repeated, Cunningham expects M&A activity to stay strong in 2013.
The full report, “Agent-Broker Mergers & Acquisitions 2012,” can be read online at http://tinyurl.com/awp3f24.
Topics Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Agencies
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