By David Bull

June 9 - (The Insurer) - Brown & Brown is closing in on a deal to buy Risk Strategies parent Accession Risk Management, in what would be the biggest acquisition in the U.S. intermediary’s history.

The Insurer first reported in late March that Brown & Brown was among the interested parties after advanced talks broke down for Howden Group to acquire Accession, which is owned by private equity firm Kelso and management.

A successful deal would represent the latest example of large-scale consolidation in the U.S. broker space, including a number of deals in which publicly traded intermediaries have bought privately held brokers whose private equity owners were seeking an exit.

Arthur J Gallagher is awaiting regulatory approval – expected in the second half of the year – for its $13.5 billion acquisition of AssuredPartners, news of which was broken by The Insurer in December.

That came after Marsh’s September 2024 acquisition of McGriff from TIH for $7.75 billion, and Aon’s $13 billion deal for NFP, which closed in April 2024.

Boston-based holding company Accession was formed in October 2023 to sit above privately held retail broking firm Risk Strategies and Matt Power-led wholesaler One80 Intermediaries.

Risk Strategies was the 14th-largest retail broking intermediary in 2023, generating $1.45bn in brokerage revenues. It was launched in 1997 by industry veteran Michael Christian, who served as CEO from its founding before transitioning to executive chair in 2019.

At that time former Willis executive John Mina, who now serves as CEO of Accession, took over running Risk Strategies. Accession is understood to have more than $15 billion in premium under management across the U.S. and Canada.

Accession has made more than 170 acquisitions since Risk Strategies and One80 were launched, with overall headcount somewhere around 5,000. In 2015, mid-market private equity firm Kelso & Company acquired a majority stake in Risk Strategies from Kohlberg & Company.

One80 was launched under Power’s leadership in 2019.

A deal with Brown & Brown would mark a successful liquidity event for Accession’s investors, after the company explored a number of potential transactions with financial sponsors and strategic acquirers in the last few months of 2024.

The Daytona Beach, Florida-based intermediary reported 10.4% organic growth for 2024 with total revenue up 12.9% year on year to $4.81 billion.

The intermediary disclosed in its full-year financials in January that it had completed 32 acquisitions in 2024 worth $174 million in annualised revenue.

Previous large-scale acquisitions by Brown & Brown include the landmark deal for UK broking consolidator Global Risk Partners in 2022, its $700 million-plus acquisition of Hays Companies in 2018 and the $395 million swoop for underwriting agency Arrowhead in 2012.

Accession posted pro forma revenue of $1.7 billion for 2024, an increase of 17% over 2023, with Risk Strategies reporting revenues of $1.24 billion, which represents 73% of Accession’s total year-end revenue.

Brown & Brown and Accession did not immediately respond to requests for comment.