Western Financial Group acquires Winnipeg-based insurance broker Hayhurst Elias Dudek (HED)

Western Financial Group has agreed to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Winnipeg-based Hayhurst Elias Dudek (HED) Inc. and its subsidiaries, including Securican General Insurance Company.
The transaction has been approved by all applicable regulatory bodies and is scheduled to close on or before Sept. 30, 2009.
Western Financial Group currently owns 49% of HED and has been a minority shareholder for almost three years.
HED is one of Canada’s largest independent insurance brokerages. Its head office is in Winnipeg and it also has a service office in Laval, Quebec.
The brokerage specializes in commercial insurance and employee benefit products specifically designed for Canadian independent businesses and government entities that are aligned with associations or buying groups.
Securican is an underwriter of pet health insurance through its own brand name – PetSecure – as well as a number of white label agreements with national brand name companies.
In announcing the deal, Western Financial pointed to the fact that it owned a network of more than 100 insurance brokerages in Western Canada.
“While Western [Financial]’s focus has been in the West, we welcome and embrace HED’s cross-Canada business model of serving client group member firms’ needs across the country — including not only the West, Ontario and Quebec, but reaching all the way to Atlantic Canada,” the company said in a statement.
Western Financial Group provides insurance, financial and banking services in more than 90 communities.