Business Moves – Southeast
AmWINS, New Mountain Capital
Wholesale insurance broker AmWINS Group Inc. announced today that its management and employee shareholders have agreed on a $1.3 billion recapitalization with private equity firm New Mountain Capital of New York. Other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“This new partnership allows AmWINS to continue its growth trajectory both organically and through strategic acquisitions,” said M. Steven DeCarlo, CEO of AmWINS.
The deal ends the firm’s partnership with Parthenon Capital Partners, which bought a majority percent stake in AmWINS in 2005.
DeCarlo said that employee shareholders will continue to own more than 30 percent of AmWINS at the conclusion of the recapitalization. He said there will be no changes to AmWINS’ senior management, local management or operational teams.
Last month it was reported that Parthenon would be selling its stake and management would cede some of its ownership to recapitalize. At the time, DeCarlo said, “AmWINS is not for sale. It is simply recapitalizing, which is part of the normal lifecycle of a private equity funded business.
AmWINS has grown rapidly since it partnered with Parthenon. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., AmWINS today places $7 billion of premiums through 16,000 retail brokerage firms and more than 1,000 insurance carriers.
USI, BBVA Compass
USI Insurance Services, an insurance brokerage firm headquartered in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., acquired certain assets of BBVA Compass Insurance Agency, a unit of BBVA Compass, a financial holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.
The acquired business assets generated $26.7 million in revenues in 2011. USI said the deal would strengthen its middle-market insurance business in the Southwest region.
USI also reached a joint referral agreement with BBVA Compass Insurance Agency and BBVA Compass. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
BBVA Compass operates over 712 branches including 374 in Texas, 93 in Alabama, 78 in Arizona, 65 in California, 45 in Florida, 36 in Colorado and 21 in New Mexico.
Brown & Brown, Moten Associates
Daytona Beach, Florida-based Brown & Brown Inc. has acquired assets of Moten Associates, an independent agency in Norristown, Penn.
Founded in 1970, Moten Associates offers surety bonds, as well as a variety of property/casualty insurance products, to clients throughout the Delaware Valley and the eastern United States. The company has combined annual revenues of $1.1 million. The firm’s management and staff are expected to join Brown & Brown of Pennsylvania offices in Plymouth Meeting, Penn.