By Ryan Hewlett, David Bull

July 7 - (The Insurer) - CRC Group has agreed to buy the managing agency operations of Stone Point Capital stablemate Atrium, the companies announced on Monday.

In a statement confirming the move, Atrium said it will retain its brand name and current leadership as part of the CRC Group.

CRC Group's existing underwriting operations house Starwind Specialty and AmRisc, with Atrium adding a significant London presence to the platform’s expansive U.S. footprint.

According to the statement, Atrium generated $1.3 billion in gross written premium in 2024 and will continue to operate independently following completion.

Insurance Advisory Partners and GC Capital & Advisory advised CRC Group on the transaction, with Evercore acting as sell-side adviser to Atrium.

The deal comes after Atrium and parent Stone Point appointed Evercore as a strategic adviser to explore options for the agency side of the business.

In the statement, Atrium CEO John Fowle said: "The confidence shown by CRC Group in Atrium is a testament to the strong business and brand that has been created since the company inception in 1984.

"As we move to the next phase of Atrium’s history, we are poised to deliver our strategic transformation agenda, one that builds on our team’s distinctive culture and Atrium’s long-standing reputation for delivering a consistent return on capital to its third-party capital providers."

CRC Group CEO Dave Obenauer said that the company's first investment outside North America marks an "exciting and significant milestone" in its evolution.

"Atrium’s well-established reputation, disciplined underwriting culture, and specialized product offerings align perfectly with our vision for strategic growth," he added.

The executive said that as a newly independent organisation, CRC Group has entered a new chapter defined by "agility, focus, and a commitment to partnering with best-in-class firms".

"Atrium exemplifies the type of high-quality business we are proud to align with, and we look forward to supporting their continued success under their current leadership and respected brand."

ATRIUM PROCESS REIGNITED

The reappointment of Evercore last year reignited a process first trailed in June 2018 when Stone Point and Enstar revealed in an SEC filing that the investment bank had been appointed to evaluate market interest for Atrium (and fellow portfolio company StarStone).

Atrium operates at Lloyd’s through Syndicate 609, which posted gross written premiums of 1.03 billion pounds ($1.40 billion) in 2024.

A long-time market outperformer, Syndicate 609's combined ratio has deteriorated in recent years, rising to 99.5% in 2024, driven primarily by large loss activity including the Baltimore bridge collapse and uncertainty over its Russia-Ukraine lessor claims.

Atrium exited its marine XL reinsurance book in early 2023 as part of a portfolio rebalancing initiated in late 2022.

In March 2025, Atrium agreed a loss portfolio transfer with Enstar’s Syndicate 2008 covering approximately $196 million of reserves related to discontinued marine treaty, property treaty and US contractor liability business.

More recently, London-headquartered Atrium has sought to position itself as an agency player within the Lloyd’s market, operating with a ‘balance-sheet MGA’ model which sits between a pure MGA and a full-stack carrier.

This model was also adopted by Fidelis in January 2023 when it separated into an MGU and a balance sheet operation.

Trident V LP and affiliated funds managed by Stone Point increased their indirect ownership interest in Atrium from around 36% to 80% in a 2020 transaction that reduced Enstar's ownership in Atrium’s holding company Northshore from 54% to 11%.

Atrium management and funds managed by Dowling Capital continued to hold minority stakes in Northshore following the transaction.

The latest deal is the second major transaction this year involving CRC Group and another Stone Point-backed entity, after E&S Insurer first reported in February that the U.S. wholesaler and underwriting company was in talks to acquire Arc Excess & Surplus.

In May, CRC Group confirmed its acquisition of the Long Island-based wholesaler.

CRC Group is part of the former Truist Insurance Holdings $(TIH.AU)$ business, which was acquired in May last year by an investor group led by Stone Point and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in a deal valued at $15.5 billion. Truist Financial Corporation had previously sold a 20% stake in TIH to investors led by Stone Point in April 2023.

Following the sale of the rest of the stake to the investor group last year, TIH's retail arm McGriff was bought by Marsh McLennan Agency for $7.75 billion in cash.

CRC Group places more than $30 billion in annual premium across its pure-play wholesale and underwriting operations.

In March, CRC Group announced the retirement of the TIH brand and unveiled a new operating structure under two divisions: specialty and benefits; and underwriting.

The specialty and benefits division includes the intermediary’s wholesale property and casualty operations, operating as CRC Specialty, along with its employee benefits business.

The underwriting division includes Starwind and AmRisc.

Starwind is one of the largest program management and MGA operations in North America, writing more than $3 billion in premiums and managing more than 65 programs.