Marsh McLennan to acquire McGriff Insurance in $7.8B deal

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(Bloomberg) –Marsh McLennan agreed to buy smaller rival McGriff Insurance Services in a $7.8 billion cash transaction, marking its largest ever deal.

The New-York based brokerage firm aims to close the transaction by year-end, it said in a statement Monday. McGriff, an affiliate of TIH Insurance, posted revenues of $1.3 billion in the 12 months ending in June 2024. 

The acquisition will boost Marsh’s property and casualty, management liability, employee benefits and personal lines businesses, Marsh said in the statement.

“The firm will be an important addition to the business we have built over 15 years,” David Eslick, chairman and chief executive of Marsh McLennan Agency, the unit through which the deal was made, said in the statement. 

The $7.8 billion is the most the company has spent on an acquisition, according to Bloomberg data. It’s also more than the $4.5 billion that Marsh — which has grown by acquiring smaller agencies over the years — previously earmarked for dividends, acquisitions and share repurchases in 2024. 

Marsh will fund the deal through a combination of cash and debt financing, and in conjunction with the acquisition, it will assume a deferred tax asset worth roughly $500 million.