MarshBerry believes 2021 M&A activity has the opportunity to match or exceed volume levels seen in 2020.
As of April 30, 2021, there have been 189 announced merger & acquisition (M&A) transactions in the U.S. The 189 transactions announced in 2021 represent a 15.0% increase compared to the number of deals announced this time last year. The pace of deal activity is expected to continue, or potentially even increase, as concerns about changes in federal capital gains tax rates are driving many firms to explore an external sale. Tax increases at the state and federal level continue to be a catalyst to drive an increase in supply which could create a high watermark of deal activity in 2021.
Private Capital backed buyers accounted for 131 of the 189 transactions (69.3%) through April, while independent firms made up 19.0% of the total. Deal activity within these buyer segments is in line with what was observed in 2020 at this time.
There has also been a significant increase in deals involving specialty distributors in 2021. The 47 deals involving sellers in the specialty arena is nearly triple the amount of transactions announced at this time last year.
Hub International Limited (Hub), Broadstreet Partners, Inc., and Integrity Marketing Group LLC are the top three most active buyers in the U.S. in 2021, contributing a combined 22.8% of the 189 total transactions. The top 10 most active buyers completed 94 of the 189 announced transactions (49.7% of total).
- April 7: Hub announced it acquired the assets of Wyoming Financial Insurance (WYFI). WYFI is the largest independently owned insurance agency in Wyoming. The firm specializes in the construction, healthcare, hospitality, and transportation industries.
- May 5: Hub announced it acquired the assets of Conover Insurance Services, LLC (Conover). Headquartered in Bellevue, WA, Conover is one of the largest insurance and financial brokerages in the Pacific-Northwest and employs nearly 100 individuals. The firm specializes in the agriculture, construction, transportation, and tribal industries and is set to strengthen Hub’s specialty practice as it expands its presence in the area.
If you have questions about Today’s ViewPoint or would like to learn more about recent M&A activity, please email or call Phil Trem, President – Financial Advisory, at 440.392.6547.
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Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence, https://www.insurancejournal.com, https://www.businessinsurance.com/ and other publicly available sources.
Disclosure: All deal count metrics are inclusive of completed deals with U.S. targets only. Scorecard year-to-date totals may change from month to month should an acquirer notify MarshBerry or the public of a prior acquisition. 2021 statistics are preliminary and may change in future publications. Please feel free to send any announcements to M&A@MarshBerry.com.
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