US-based financial services firm BGC Partners has agreed to acquire Ed Broking Group, an independent Lloyd's of London insurance broker, for an undisclosed price.
Image: Lloyd's broker Ed Broking Group to be acquired by BGC Partners. Photo: courtesy of rawpixel/Unsplash.
Ed Broking is a wholesale insurance and reinsurance broker having offices in different parts of the world.
The insurance broker is engaged in matching risks brought to it by expert retail brokers and those looking for reinsurance coverage with underwriters.
As per the terms of the deal, BGC Partners will acquire 100% of the Lloyd’s broker, including its broking operations under the Ed brand in the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Miami and China.
Included in the transaction are the insurance broker’s German marine broking arm Junge & Co. Versicherungsmakler, UK-based managing general agent (MGA) operations Globe Underwriting and Cooper Gay (France).
BGC Partners president Shaun Lynn said: “We are delighted to reach an agreement to purchase Ed, a leading independent Lloyd’s of London broker with a global footprint. It will be an important acquisition with respect to our strategy of building the insurance brokerage division within the Company”.
According to BGC Partners, the Lloyd’s insurance broker has a strong reputation across property and casualty, accident and health, aerospace, cargo, energy, marine, professional and executive risk, financial and political risks, specialty and reinsurance.
The deal expands the insurance division of BGC Partners which was formed last year with the acquisition of Besso Insurance Group, a Lloyd’s broker with operations in the UK, Brazil, Dubai and Turkey.
Ed Broking is expected to make revenues of nearly $100m in 2018.
Following the completion of the deal, its combination with Besso Insurance is expected to place around $2bn of premium in 2018 and have around 300 combined brokers operating in 10 countries.
Ed Broking Group CEO Steve Hearn said: “To be able to announce the agreement with BGC is tremendously satisfying, given their ambition and appetite for growth.
“We feel that the best fit and the strongest future for us is with BGC, one of the leading brokerage firms in the world. With them, we are poised to make the next leap forward to redefine insurance broking.”
The closing of the deal will be based on legal and regulatory approvals and certain closing conditions.