Yahoo Finance Brown & Brown (BRO) Expands in Central Florida With Buyout
Brown & Brown, Inc. BRO has acquired Heacock Insurance. The addition of Heacock Insurance will boost Brown & Brown’s presence in central Florida.
Brown & Brown and its subsidiaries continuously make strategic acquisitions to expand globally, add capabilities and boost operations. Also, these strategic buyouts help Brown & Brown increase commissions and fees, which, in turn, drive revenues.
Heacock Insurance has been providing risk management solutions in Central Florida for about a century. Heacock’s clients include both individual and business customers in Lakeland and Sebring area.
Brown & Brown’s impressive growth is driven by organic and inorganic means across all segments. Also, strategic acquisitions and mergers help it spread its operations. Through the first line months of 2021, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) insurance broker completed 11 acquisitions with annual revenues of approximately $65 million. Brown & Brown intends to make consistent investments in boosting organic growth and margin expansion. Its solid earnings have allowed the company to expand its capabilities, with the buyouts extending the company’s geographic footprint.
Consistent operational results have been aiding Brown & Brown in generating solid cash flows for deployment in strategic initiatives. It has maintained a strong liquidity position, with $944 million of cash and cash equivalents as well as $800 million of accessible capital on revolver credit.
Given the insurance industry’s adequate capital level, players like Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. AJG, Marsh & McLennan Companies MMC and Chubb Limited CB are pursuing strategic mergers and acquisitions.
Recently, Arthur J. Gallagher acquired Mark J. Becker & Associates to boost consulting capabilities and access in Iowa and the Heartland region. The insurance broker boasts an impressive inorganic story with a strong merger and acquisition pipeline of about $400 million revenues associated with nearly 50 term sheets either agreed upon or being prepared.
A solid capital position supports Arthur J. Gallagher in its growth initiatives. It estimates more than $2.5 billion for mergers and acquisitions, consisting of $1 billion in cash, about $650 million of net cash generation in the second half of 2021 and $600 million to $700 million of borrowing capacity.
Marsh & McLennan’s unit Marsh McLennan Agency acquired Pelnik Insurance to widen client offerings in the North Carolina region.
Marsh & McLennan has made numerous purchases within its different operating units that enabled it to enter new geographies, expand within the existing locations, foray into new businesses, develop new segments and specialize within its current businesses.
Chubb inked a definitive agreement to take over the life and non-life insurance companies of Cigna to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region. The company has always considered acquisitions as an effective strategy for growth and global expansion. Acquisitions provide Chubb with a competitive edge in terms of scale, efficiencies and balance sheet size, which would lead to considerable value creation in the future.
Shares of Brown & Brown have rallied 36.1% year to date compared with the industry’s increase of 25.5%. A sustained operational performance, higher commissions and fees and a sturdy capital position to help the broker retain the momentum.
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Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher, Marsh & McLennan and Chubb have gained 34%, 42.5% and 25.3%, respectively, in the same time frame.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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