Private Equity Firm Hg Weighs Options for €1.5 Billion Insurance Broker GGW

Hg is weighing options for GGW Group, including a sale that could value the German insurance broker at about €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion), people familiar with the matter said.

The software-focused private equity firm is working with advisers as it considers offloading some or all of its stake in GGW, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions on a sale have been made, according to the people. Hg may also decide to hold on to the business and grow it through bolt-on acquisitions, they said.

Representatives for Hg and GGW declined to comment.

Brokers like GGW sit between companies seeking risk coverage and the insurers that provide it. The fragmented nature of the insurance broker market, and the cash generation capabilities of the firms within it, have made it a hotbed of private equity dealmaking in recent years. Flagship deals have included KKR & Co.’s acquisition of French insurance broker April Group, valued at around €2.3 billion.

Founded in Hamburg in 1758, GGW — Gossler, Gobert & Wolters — employs roughly 2,000 people. Hg invested in the company in 2021 and has since grown it through around 40 bolt-on acquisitions.