Private equity firm Southampton Financial Inc. has announced its acquisition of Ontario-based digital insurance brokerage aha insurance. Launched in 2017, Waterloo, Ont.-based aha insurance offers consumers the ability to quote, purchase and manage car and home insurance policies entirely online.…
Private equity interest in the Canadian P&C brokerage space is showing no sign of slowing down, industry observers said last week at KPMG’s 2023 Insurance Conference in Toronto. Private equity groups remain eager to acquire Canadian brokerages, said Andrew Mathias,…
Reports of the death of brokerage mergers and acquisitions in an era of higher interest rates have been greatly exaggerated. Back in early 2023, Canadian Underwriter’s National Broker Survey noticed a curious phenomenon: brokers’ interest in M&A growth had dipped…
Big buyers of P&C brokerages — i.e., private equity (PE) firms — may continue to see premium increases for their own liability and cyber policies, albeit flatter than before, Matthew Studley, executive vice president of complex risk for Hub International,…
Private equity (PE) and insurer-backed brokerage acquisitions appear to have surged in recent years, but it’s difficult to get a true number as not all transactions are reported, business advisory and consulting firm Smythe LLP said in a new report.…
Private equity (PE) firms are frequently described as caring more about themselves and their investors than their entrepreneur partners. Or they’re called whiz kids who don’t fully understand the industries into which they insert themselves. However, much like top-tier brokerages,…
Is broker ‘independence’ capital-agnostic? Or is broker independence truly a function of who owns the brokerage, be it a broker, an insurance company or a private equity partner? This question has been the source of a longstanding debate between brokers…
Private equity-backed brokerages that acquire 100% of a brokerage and then offer the ability to roll over some equity continue to be Canada’s most popular M&A model, but others are gaining traction, a P&C transaction advisor says. “While obtaining markets…
Speed can equal success when a private equity firm is looking to acquire a company. But the rush to close a deal can also mean insurance gets put on the back burner. A private equity firm often buys a controlling…
Private equity firms should consider partnering with one carrier who is able to handle multiple lines of insurance for both the private equity firm and its portfolio companies, a mutual insurer told Canadian Underwriter. “We’ve seen benefits of having the…
If your brokerage generates good cash flow and has a good book of business, there’s a chance that an insurer or private equity firm will want to buy you. If they do, is your brokerage no longer independent?
The number of Canadian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) through the third quarter of this year increased to 1,879 from 1,522 during the same period in 2016, according to PwC Canada’s first Deals report, released on Monday. A PwC Canada spokesperson…