Employee benefits services provider OneDigital Health and Benefits has acquired Northwestern Benefit, an employee benefits broker and independent benefits firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, for an undisclosed amount.
Image: Northwestern Benefit is till now the largest acquisition of OneDigital. Photo: Courtesy of OneDigital.
OneDigital said that this is the company’s largest acquisition so far, which brings the employer clients to nearly 50,000 and employees to over 1,600 across the US. Last year, the company made 28 acquisitions and in this year till now made 5 acquisitions, bringing its annual revenue to more than $400m.
Northwestern Benefit has been serving its clients in Georgia and across the US for more than 20 years, offering benefits, compliance, wellness, HR consulting, employee education and strategic workforce planning.
OneDigital CEO Adam Bruckman said: “This represents an exciting milestone for OneDigital, where our largest acquisition to date is also located right here in our home state of Georgia. Northwestern lets us compete in the Atlanta benefits marketplace in an entirely new way.
“We’re not just looking to enter markets. We are looking to disrupt markets through organic growth and large-scale acquisitions with proven leadership. Northwestern Benefit is an indication of what’s to come.”
The company said that after the acquisition, it will be able to deploy expert teams from across deeper bench for best possible benefits and HR solutions to the clients. Northwestern Benefit’s clients are also expected to benefit from OneDigital’s national scale, infrastructure and leadership in the fields.
Northwestern Benefit CEO David Asbury will join OneDigital team as senior managing principal, while other employees will continue in their client-facing or corporate positions.
Asbury said: “There is such strong alignment in how OneDigital and Northwestern serve clients and think about the future of the benefits market. As the benefits space continued to consolidate and we considered acquirers, it was incredibly important to me to find the right partner.
“With OneDigital’s scale, reach and long-term vision, we knew our organizations would fit together and be stronger together right off the bat.”
In February 2019, OneDigital acquired Veritas Risk Services, based in Downers Grove, Illinois. Veritas offers employee benefits and retirement space for its clients across a range of industries.
Managing principal Doug Truax, principal Bob Walsh and regional vice presidents Sharon Schlenker, Greg Hopkins and Kathy Smith will continue in their respective roles, the company stated.