GTCR and Apax Partners are exploring options including a full or partial sale of insurance broker AssuredPartners, which could be valued at up to $16 billion, including debt, in any transaction, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
(Bloomberg) — GTCR and Apax Partners are exploring options including a full or partial sale of insurance broker AssuredPartners, which could be valued at up to $16 billion, including debt, in any transaction, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The private equity firms are also considering an initial public offering of the company, said one of the people, all of whom asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. AssuredPartners is on track to generate about $850 million in annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, one of the people said.
Representatives for GTCR and Apax declined to comment. A spokesperson for AssuredPartners didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Insurance brokers, which act as intermediaries between businesses and insurance providers, have enjoyed rising revenue because of inflation. That’s because the run-up in home prices, car prices and other assets that require insurance translate into higher fees for brokers when they connect clients with policies. Brokers including Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc. and Aon Plc have seen their stock prices soar in the past year.
Acrisure, another brokerage, has interviewed banks for a 2024 IPO that could value the firm at well over $20 billion, Bloomberg News reported in June. The brokerage Hub International sold a minority stake this month to institutional investors including Leonard Green & Partners in a deal that valued the company at $23 billion.
AssuredPartners in February named Randy Larsen its chief executive officer, succeeding co-founder Jim Henderson, who became executive chairman. At the time, GTCR’s Aaron Cohen credited Henderson for steering an “unparalleled growth trajectory” at the company.
An investor group led by GTCR in 2019 agreed to buy a majority stake in the company from Apax, which kept an interest in the company. That deal valued AssuredPartners at $5.1 billion, Bloomberg News reported at the time.
(Updates with Apax response in third paragraph)
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