Brown & Brown, the sixth largest independent broker in the US, has acquired Cork-based O'Leary Insurances in a multimillion euro deal.
No financial details have been disclosed, but industry experts estimate it to be in or around the €100 million mark.
Founded in 1961 by the late Archie O’Leary, the firm is one of the largest independently-owned brokerages in the Republic with 200 employees operating from eight locations.
“We are delighted to join the Brown & Brown group of companies, and view this progression as a huge positive for both the O’Leary Insurances team and our valued customers,” said managing director Anthony O’Leary, sole shareholder and son of the company’s founder.
“We view Brown & Brown’s choice of an Irish company as their European gateway to be a strong endorsement of this country, he added.
O’Leary Insurances recorded turnover of €11.6 million for the year ending June 30th, 2019, with pretax profits totalling €1.2 million. At that stage it had assets of €25.2 million and liabilities of €13.4 million.
New York-listed Brown & Brown was founded in 1939, and is headquartered in Florida. The company employs more than 10,000 people, and reported revenues of $2.93 billion (€2.4bn) last year.
“Like Brown & Brown, O’Leary Insurances grew from a family-owned business to a leader in the Irish brokerage market by empowering its teammates to succeed,” it said in a statement.
“We are fully confident that we share with OLI the same culture of customer focus by providing unique risk solutions that meet each customer’s needs.”
