Currently, Willis Towers Watson has an 85% stake in Miller while the remaining 15% is held by the latter’s partners

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Miller Insurance to be acquired by Cinven and GIC. (Credit: Tumisu from Pixabay)

Private equity firm Cinven and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC have agreed to acquire UK-based Miller Insurance from Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and others.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Miller Insurance is a specialist insurance and (re)insurance broker for intermediaries, direct insureds, and reinsureds. The company has been operating in Lloyd’s of London, and also in international markets.

Currently, Willis Towers Watson holds an 85% economic interest in the company. The remaining 15% stake is held by Miller’s partners.

For Cinven, the transaction marks its first investment from its new financial services sector-focused strategy, under which it will be pursuing similar long-term opportunities in Europe.

The private equity firm’s previous investments in the European insurance sector include Guardian Financial Services in the UK, Italy-based Eurovita, and Viridium in Germany.

GIC, its partner in the Miller deal, has investments across Rothesay and RAC in the UK, China Pacific Insurance group in China, and Mass Mutual Asia in Hong Kong.

Cinven partner Luigi Sbrozzi said: “Miller is a highly attractive, resilient specialist insurance business with strong long-term growth opportunities across all of its segments and a history of consistent growth through various economic cycles.

“We see opportunities both organically, by recruiting new specialist brokers, and through incremental M&A over time. Miller also offers a scalable platform, particularly internationally, with associated benefits for clients as the business develops and expands over the long-term.”

Established in 1902, Miller has been operating in the UK, Lloyd’s, and globally. The company, which has offices in London, Ipswich, Paris, Singapore, Brussels, and Geneva, employs more than 640 people.

Miller has operations across various specialist areas that include marine, energy, professional risks, property, casualty, credit and political risks, sports and entertainment, and (re)insurance.

The company is said to place nearly £2bn worth of premiums annually.

Miller CEO Greg Collins said: “We are very pleased to be partnering with Cinven and GIC, whose knowledge and insurance investment expertise will enormously support our business as we enter this important next phase of growth.

“We are excited about bringing together our combined expertise to bolster our best in class client service and solutions and strengthen Miller’s position in our core activities. This includes making incremental targeted, strategic investments as we look to realise our ambition of becoming the leading independent specialist (re)insurance broking firm.”

Subject to receipt of regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close in Q1 2021.