Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) is set to snap up top 100 US insurance broker Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance (FBBI) for almost $316 million, with the deal delivering the acquirer a presence in the Florida panhandle and Mississippi and adding to its Alabama reach.
The deal took a “pretty intense” 60 days to agree on, MMA Southeast CEO Peter Krause told IBA. The short timeline was made possible by the involvement of Morgan Stanley as Trustmark National Bank looked to divest from its insurance operations.
“It moved pretty fast,” Krause said. “Typically [this takes longer], we’re constantly out talking to various firms about potential acquisitions, getting to know them, having them get to know us – but these bank transactions… move pretty quickly.”
The deal is expected to close by the end of Q2 2024, MMA said.
In addition to FBBI opening up opportunities for MMA in areas of the Southeast where it does not already have offices, Krause pointed to its active middle-market presence as a win for MMA that fits well with its core focus area.
In addition to commercial property and casualty (P&C), FBBI has an employee benefits practice and brokers personal lines insurance.
“They checked all the boxes,” Krause said.
In 2023 and 2024 so far, MMA struck up deals for:
FBBI’s executive team, including FBBI CEO Scott Woods, is expected to remain with the business. Staff at the bank-affiliated insurance agency should not expect whirlwind changes, Krause set out.
“The MMA approach is to keep things status quo and give them the support that they need,” Krause said. “I always say keep things simple – we focus on the colleagues and the clients, we’ve got to keep a close eye on the client but really what we're doing is you keep the train on the track and providing them with a stronger engine.”
FBBI is MMA’s second acquisition of 2024. Its purchase of Shreveport, LA, Louisiana insurance brokers Querbes & Nelson (Q&N) and Louisiana Insurance Companies was announced in February and closed at the start of March.
Last year, it added Kentucky-based agencies Blue Water Insurance and Integrity HR, Illinois’ Trideo Systems, Texas-based SOLV Risk Solutions.
MMA’s biggest deal of 2023 was its purchase of Graham Companies, for which it paid $307 million.
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