Gallagher Expands Insurance, Benefits Footprint With $13.5B Deal

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has signed an agreement to acquire AssuredPartners Inc., a partnership of insurance and employee benefits brokerage firms, for a total consideration of $13.45 billion, the firm announced Monday.

Gallagher, an insurance brokerage, risk management and benefits consulting firm—including for employer-sponsored retirement plans—joins the growing list of insurance and benefits aggregators looking for greater scale in the marketplace.

On a conference call Monday, Chairman and CEO J. Patrick Gallagher said the acquisition will heighten the firm’s pace of acquisitions, which has seen it add about 200 firms since 2020. Through the combination, Gallagher plans to book about 100 deals per year as compared to its current 50 or 60, he said.

If the agreement meets regulatory approvals, Gallagher will acquire AssuredPartners’ parent company, private equity firm GTCR LLC and funds advised by Apax Partners LLP. It will pay for the transaction with a combination of long-term debt, short-term borrowings, free cash and common equity, according to the announcement. Gallagher expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2025.

The firm estimates total integration costs of about $500 million, including $200 million of non-cash retention awards, over the next three years. It also forecasts about $160 million in revenue synergies from real estate and other savings.

On the call, CEO Gallagher said the firm does not plan to find savings by laying off a significant number of AssuredPartner staff, which includes about 10,900 people across its partnered firms; Gallagher has more than 52,000 employees as of the end of 2023, according to company filings.

Gallagher, headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, expects the acquisition to add capabilities, including:

• An expansion of its retail middle-market property/casualty and employee benefits focus across the U.S.;
• New business opportunities leveraging Gallagher’s expertise, data, and analytics and product offerings;
• Deepening Gallagher’s capabilities across niche practice groups, including transportation, energy, health care, government contractors and public entity;
• Expanding its tuck-in M&A strategy;
• Creating opportunities for Gallagher’s wholesale, reinsurance and claims management businesses; and
• Adding scale, expertise and talent to Gallagher in the U.K. and Ireland.

“With Gallagher, we bring together not only unparalleled global resources and expert insights but also a team of exceptional employees whose expertise and dedication have been the driving force behind our success,” Randy Larsen is CEO of Orlando, Florida-based AssuredPartners, said in a statement with the deal.

Jeff Leonard is global managing director of financial and retirement services at Gallagher. John Jurik was recently promoted to U.S. retirement plan consulting practice leader overseeing the direction of the firm’s defined contribution, defined benefit, financial planning and institutional investment consulting practices, according to a LinkedIn post.

In another mega-insurance and benefits consultancy merger, Aon PLC penned a similarly sized deal to acquire NFP Corp. in late 2023.