Onex Corporation has agreed to acquire USI Insurance Services from GS Capital Partners in a transaction valued at approximately $2.3 billion. The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of 2012.
USI is a distributor of property and casualty insurance and employee benefits products to businesses throughout the United States. USI is ranked as one of the ten largest insurance brokers in the United States. The firm was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Briarcliff Manor, NY, and operates out of 100 offices in 26 states (www.usi.biz).
“USI has established a strong national insurance brokerage with a very impressive management team led by Mike Sicard,” said Robert Le Blanc, an Onex Managing Director. “The company is well positioned to continue to grow both organically and by building on its track record of successful acquisitions.”
Employees of USI invested alongside GS Capital Partners in a take-private of the company in 2007, and will remain significant investors in USI going forward.
GS Capital Partners is the private equity vehicle through which Goldman Sachs conducts its large, privately negotiated, corporate equity investment activities and is currently investing through its sixth fund. GS Capital Partners focuses on large, sophisticated business opportunities in which value can be created through leveraging the resources of Goldman Sachs (www.gs.com/pia).
“USI’s management team and employees have demonstrated a commitment to growing and improving the business, and we are pleased with the company’s performance over the last several years. Since our take-private in 2007, USI has successfully integrated operations and developed a common operating platform with industry-leading margins, differentiated acquisition capabilities, and a strong platform for organic growth,” said Sumit Rajpal, a Managing Director at GS Capital Partners.
Onex Corporation makes private equity investments through the Onex Partners and the ONCAP families of funds. Onex has more than $14 billion of assets under management and is based in Toronto (www.onex.com).
Onex was advised by Morgan Stanley, with Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, RBC Capital Markets LLC and UBS Securities providing bank and bridge financing commitments. GS Capital Partners was advised by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and RBC Capital Markets.
© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-26-12
