The Big Picture: A UK insurance magnate turned to TwinFocus for help navigating a major acquisition. We were by his side through all aspects of the deal and, through our extensive network, brought the right players to the table to execute a successful transaction.

The Backdrop: Mergers and acquisitions are among the most frequently used growth strategies for companies in the 21st century, with 2022 M&A activity exceeding historical norms despite economic and geopolitical headwinds. They present a company with a potentially larger market share and open it up to a more diversified market. Simply put, they are one of the most popular ways to achieve scale and dominance in an increasingly globalized marketplace.

As leaders in their field, our clients routinely conduct M&A transactions and look to TwinFocus’ expertise to help manage an inherently complex process.

Our Approach: Our M&A expertise is one of the core competencies that distinguishes TwinFocus from our counterparts and brings an added service to our clients’ wealth ambitions.

Here’s how we served as strategic capital advisors to one of our family office clients to successfully complete an M&A transaction on his behalf, which resulted in the immediate growth of his primary business and enormous potential for greater returns.

The Situation: Our client, a Scottish businessman with a humble upbringing, made his fortune in the United Kingdom insurance sector. He was the Chairman, CEO, and majority owner of one of the largest privately held British insurance brokerage businesses, with billions of pounds in annual premiums. In addition to advising his family office, TwinFocus served as strategic capital advisors for his primary insurance business. We were the ideal partner for this financial function because, as with many of our families, his business was deeply integrated into his diversified balance sheet.

Via his insurance business, our client sought to acquire a very large and successful run-off book of insurance business in the UK, with the ability to also partner with the seller in creating a go-forward book of business. Given the changing dynamics and significant size of the transaction at several hundred million pounds, he needed to seek additional capital partners.

Additionally, we had to navigate the complex regulatory environment to ensure approval of any proposed business combination.

The Solution: Our client confidently turned to TwinFocus to help with the transaction and serve as his closest and most trusted capital advisor. Our first task was to help negotiate a competitive term sheet, which was one among four competing bids.

The transaction was incredibly complex and fast-moving. TwinFocus oversaw all aspects of the deal—legal, corporate, financial, regulatory, and compliance—tapping our global network of capital providers and making strategic introductions to leaders in their respective fields. Ultimately, TwinFocus structured a joint venture alongside a blue-chip private equity firm as partner, which we had brought to the table, as well as a handful of clients and other institutional investors.

We led the capital financing and advised the Chairman & CEO throughout all stages of due diligence and execution. This included seeking out and securing multiple blue-chip credit and private equity partners to provide debt and equity as well as negotiating and structuring the end investment. We also oversaw the tax structuring and compliance for the top executives of our client’s company.

The Long Haul: TwinFocus continues to work closely with our client to provide ongoing support as his business matures and grows. We also maintain a board seat as a result of the equity participation of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The company continues to perform steadily and on target.

Disclosure: Case studies may not be representative of the experiences of all TwinFocus clients. TwinFocus does not make any representations as to accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party that is linked to on this website.