Ryan Specialty Agrees to Buy Certain Assets of Ardonagh’s Geo Underwriting Europe

Ryan Specialty, the Chicago-based international specialty insurance firm, announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets of the European managing general agent Geo Underwriting Europe BV (Geo Europe), part of London-based Ardonagh Group.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

(In a separate deal, Ryan announced signed a definitive agreement to acquire the property and casualty MGUs owned by Ethos Specialty Insurance, part of Ascot Group. See related article).

Geo Europe is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, with operations in Germany, and specializes in financial lines. Geo Europe will join the Ryan Financial Lines (RFL) unit within the Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers division of Ryan Specialty, complementing RFL’s European expansion objectives. The acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of this year.

Geo Europe’s core portfolio primarily comprises specialized mid-sized companies and global large corporates across the European Union written by underwriters with experience in professional indemnity, management liability and cyber.

Walter Craft will be appointed as managing director of Ryan Financial Lines – Benelux and DACH, and will join the Ryan Financial Lines Executive Committee.

“Ryan Specialty is the right platform for Geo Europe to further strengthen its offerings and to allow our team members to really excel. Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers’ analytical underwriting support and administrative and distribution capabilities align nicely for the next step in our journey, as we continue to focus on providing the best solutions and service to our clients,” commented Walter Craft, managing director and chief underwriting officer for Geo Europe.

“We are grateful to The Ardonagh Group who have supported the launch of Geo Europe in 2019 and are very excited about this next step in joining Ryan Financial lines and the wider Ryan Specialty family,” Craft added.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Excess Surplus Europe Underwriting