Ardonagh Group Ltd. is nearing a deal to raise as much as $2.5 billion from inve
stors to help fuel the private equity-backed insurance broker’s rapid growth.
The London-based firm is expected to close the capital-raise this summer in an o
versubscribed process, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The proceeds will be used to fund growth opportunities in
cluding potential acquisitions
, the people added, asking not to be identified as the fundraising is not public.
The funding round comes a
fter PE firm Stone Point Capital agreed to invest in the business in December
in a transaction that valued the company at about $14 bil
lion.
A representative for Ardonagh, which is majority-owned by Madison Dearborn P
artners, declined to comment.
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Ardonagh’s rapid ascent represents a dramatic change in fortunes for a b
usiness that rose from the ashes of Towergate, an insurance broker rescued
by creditor HPS Investment Partners after a debt fueled M&A splurge. In 2017, To
wergate merged with three other insurance brokers and services businesses to form Ardonagh.
With the help of backers Madison Dearborn Partners, and later the Abu Dhab
i Investment Authority, it has become one of the indus
try’s biggest players under Chief Executive Officer David Ross.
Ardonagh has already bought a string of assets in markets including Brazil, Spain and Italy. Last year, it purchased Australia’s PSC
Insurance Group for an implied equity value of A$2.3 billion ($1.5 billion), taking it priv
ate and combining it with its Envest business.
