Reinsurance broker Beach & Associates to be acquired by Acrisure

Beach & Associates, the specialist insurance and reinsurance broker which often arranges trades with collateralized and ILS fund markets, is to be acquired by retail insurance agency network Acrisure LLC who will buyout existing shareholders including private equity fund manager Aquiline.

Beach has a practice focused on industry-loss warranty (ILW) broking and other insurance-linked securities (ILS) solutions, such as collateralized reinsurance, as well as practices focused on retrocession and traditional reinsurance.

Acrisure will purchase 100% of the outstanding Beach equity from existing shareholders, including private equity specialists and insurance investors Aquiline Capital Partners, as well as from the current and former Beach management.

Beach will retain its brand, identity and approach to broking, the company said, operating as an independent advisory and transactional broking business within the Acrisure group of companies but now benefiting from the backing and financial support as well.

The Beach leadership and management team will remain in place after the acquisition completes and are set to become shareholders in Acrisure as well.

Grahame Millwater, Chief Executive Officer of Beach, commented on the news, “It is difficult to imagine a more suitable way for us to transition from private equity ownership than to become part of such an extraordinary business as Acrisure. The cultural fit is remarkable, our business ambitions are aligned and we have a deep regard for Acrisure’s management team and their strategy. This transaction gives both us, and our clients, long term clarity and we are excited about being afforded the support to pursue ambitious growth plans. Aquiline has been a deeply supportive investor and we are grateful for their contribution to our success so far.”

Gregory Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Acrisure, added, “For our first acquisition outside North America, we were looking for a strong management team, international reach and significant reinsurance and insurance portfolio expertise. In Beach we have found all of that and more. We look forward with real enthusiasm to both supporting Beach’s growth and to partnering with a world-class executive team as we grow our collective business.”

Jeff Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aquiline, stated, “We have been delighted to have been associated with Beach over the past 3 years. Grahame and the team are first rate insurance and reinsurance professionals, and they have found an ideal solution for their next stage of development in a future partnership with Acrisure. We wish them all the best for the future.”

Beach brokers transactions involving capital market, collateralized players or ILS fund markets from its offices in Bermuda, London, Zurich and New York, we understand.

The acquisition is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2018 but terms were not disclosed.