It’s official – less than one month after the shock announcement that Amwins Group, Inc. had signed a definitive agreement to acquire rival wholesale broker Worldwide Facilities, and the deal is done.
Private equity firm Genstar Capital confirmed completion of the sale on Thursday, April 01. The firm rolled nearly 100% of its equity in Worldwide Facilities and became a minority shareholder in Amwins.
“Specialty markets are experiencing rapid growth as the complexity of insurance products increases and premium rates continue to rise,” said Genstar president and managing director Ryan Clark. “Genstar’s focus in the insurance sector helped us to identify both Worldwide and Amwins as businesses we wanted to invest in.”
Together, the combined firm will have more than 6,151 employees in over 155 offices across the US, and place in excess of $24 billion in premium annually. The Worldwide team, led by CEO Davis Moore (pictured right), will join the Amwins’ leadership team, while Ryan Clark of Genstar will join Amwins’ Board of Directors.
Worldwide Facilities, which is headquartered in Los Angeles and has over 35 offices across the US, wrote nearly $2 billion in gross premiums in 2020 and has experienced double digit growth for the past five years.
“During our partnership with Genstar we continued product expansion and successfully completed five acquisitions, including companies that expanded our nationwide footprint and increased our already diverse offerings,” said Moore.
Clark added: “We had an outstanding working partnership with Davis and his management team over the past 17 months and are excited to now partner with the Amwins team. We would also like to thank John Addeo and Rick Taketa of Genstar’s Strategic Advisory Board, whose expertise in the insurance distribution industry was instrumental, and we want to thank them for a great partnership.”
Moore has described Amwins as “a great cultural fit” for Worldwide. He said: “Worldwide clients can expect a continued high level of service, with access to a broader range of markets, products and tools. We look forward to partnering with Amwins and exploring many more opportunities as part of a scaled global organization.”
When the deal was announced, Amwins CEO Scott M. Purviance (pictured left) said it was a “watershed moment” not just for Amwins, but the specialty distribution space in the US. This significant transaction – Amwins and Worldwide are the first and fourth largest wholesale brokers in the US, respectively – marks Amwins’ 51st acquisition.
“Since the beginning, we've believed that scale and specialization are key to delivering for our clients,” said Purviance. “Over the last 19 years, we've been able to build an organization that stands out amongst the competition. With the addition of Worldwide to the Amwins family, we are partnering with a very talented group of brokers and underwriters. Worldwide has a very similar culture to Amwins and has a significant employee ownership base. The combined firm will have over 1,025 employee shareholders owning 43% of the business.”
Waller Helms Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to Worldwide in the transaction. Ropes & Gray LLP served as legal counsel to Genstar and Worldwide.
