The deal ’gives us immediate scale and a strong pipeline to fuel future growth’, says chief executive
US-based insurance holding company Ambac Financial Group has signed a deal to acquire a majority stake in managing general agent (MGA) platform Beat Capital Partners.
Beat is a London-based incubator and has launched 13 underwriting franchises and MGAs since being established in 2017.
It produced $533m (£416m) in combined gross premiums and approximately $17m (£13.2m) in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items (ebitda) in 2023.
Ambac said it had acquired a 60% controlling stake in the firm for $282m (£220m), up to $40m (£31.2m) of which will be paid in shares of Ambac common stock.
The remainder will be paid in cash and is subject to closing adjustments.
“This acquisition propels Ambac to the forefront of the specialty programme insurance market,” Claude LeBlanc, president and chief executive of Ambac, said.
“We are not simply acquiring a leading specialty underwriting platform – we are aligning with a team that has proven ability to build and launch profitable de novo MGAs, which is a core pillar of our growth strategy.
“Adding Beat to our platform gives us immediate scale and a strong pipeline to fuel future growth.”
’Transformational partnership’
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.
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Beat’s management team and existing shareholder Bain Capital each will retain an equity stake of approximately 20%.
John Cavanagh, partner and chairman of Beat, will continue to manage the business as part of the senior Beat leadership team.
He said: “This is a transformational partnership for Beat. Ambac’s well-established MGA incubation and carrier capabilities and its outstanding leadership team is a perfect fit with Beat’s existing platform and team.
“This joint enterprise now represents one of the foremost global platforms for MGAs and underwriting franchises, with a significant footprint in the US, UK and Bermudan markets and scope to grow into other geographies.
“Our aligned capacity, affiliated carrier capabilities and global licensing offers leading specialty underwriters who have an absolute focus on underwriting profit the perfect platform to build their businesses.”
His career began in 2019, when he joined a local north London newspaper after graduating from the University of Sheffield with a first-class honours degree in journalism.
He took up the position of deputy news editor at Insurance Times in March 2023, before being promoted to his current role in May 2024.View full Profile
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