Acrisure has secured significant new investment from key backers led by Blackstone in a transaction that implies a valuation of over $7bn for the rapidly growing US-based intermediary.
Grand Rapids, Michigan-headquartered Acrisure said in a statement that Blackstone, Partners Group and Harvest Partners SCF had supported the transaction, which means they had now invested or committed to $2bn of preferred equity in the company.
It added that taking into account the new investment the company remains over 83 percent owned by its management team and agency partners.
Blackstone invested through its GSO Capital Partners and Tactical Opportunities businesses.
The deal comes only two years after Acrisure completed a $2.9bn management-led buyout as the firm’s founding president and CEO Greg Williams teamed up with a consortium of minority investors that included Blackstone and Partners Group.
Acrisure has been one of the fastest growing firms in the US retail broking space over the past few years and has also diversified its platform with acquisitions such as reinsurance intermediary Beach & Associates.
It has generated revenues that have more than doubled from $650mn to $1.5bn over the past two years and completed 92 acquisitions in 2017 – a total expected to top 100 this year.
According to analysis by investment bank Optis Partners, Acrisure led the way among consolidators in the first nine months of this year with 70 transactions – well ahead of Hub International with 47 deals.
Williams said the latest investment represented a “strong endorsement” of the firm’s growth strategy.
“The additional capital and resources will significantly benefit our company as we continue to grow organically and pursue additional M&A opportunities,” he added.
“We have strengthened our position as a leading global provider of insurance solutions and continued to build a pipeline of culturally compatible agency prospects that we look forward to welcoming into the Acrisure family,” he continued.
GSO Capital Partners senior managing director Louis Salvatore said his firm was “strongly supportive” of Acrisure and its management team and agency partners as they accelerate its growth trajectory.
Partners Group’s Christopher Hardison, managing director, private debt Americas, said his firm had upped its investment because of Acrisure’s “recurring revenue model, diversified revenue mix, strong free cash flow and demonstrated ability to successfully consolidate the market”.
Evercore acted as exclusive financial adviser to Acrisure for the transaction.
The deal is the latest significant investment for the group of giant privately held retail-focused consolidators that also includes Hub International and Assured Partners.
The most recent saw Canadian long-term private equity firm Atlas Partners complete its minority investment in Chicago’s Hub International last month in a deal that valued the broker at more than $10bn.
Hub’s largest shareholder is Hellman & Friedman, which bought the firm for around $4.4bn in 2013.