The Carlyle Group to take majority stake in Henrico-based insurance broker

Published October 30, 2019 by Robert Powell, III

The Carlyle Group has entered an agreement to acquire a majority interest in The Hilb Group, a rapidly growing Henrico County-based insurance broker.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

The Carlyle Group is a Washington, D.C.-based global investment firm with $223 billion in assets under management as of June 30.

Founded in 2009, Hilb has more than 900 employees working in 91 offices through the country. It has been ranked as one of the nation’s fastest-growing companies by Inc. magazine and one of the top 10 fastest-growing brokers by Business Insurance magazine.

Since 2015, Hilb has been a portfolio company of Abry Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm. Brent Stone, an Abry partner, said Hilb’s annual revenues have increased dramatically during the past four years and the brokere completed more than 60 acquisitions during that time.

Hilb that, under the Carlyle agreement, its existing management team and employees are expected to remain significant company shareholders.

in a statement, Richard Spiro, Hilb’s CEO, said that the broker has “a rich pipeline of partnership opportunities” and expects to continue expand under Carlyle.

“This investment by Carlyle is a strong endorsement of our growth strategy and represents the next exciting chapter for Hilb,” he said. “Carlyle's additional capital and resources will significantly benefit our company and associates as we grow our business organically and through targeted M&A opportunities.”

In another statement, John Redett, managing director and co-head of Carlyle Global Financial Services, said his firm has “long admired the Hilb franchise and are extremely impressed with what Ricky Spiro and the Hilb management team have accomplished during the past several years.”

Equity capital for Carlyle’s investment will come from Carlyle Partners VII, an $18.5 billion fund that focuses on buyout transactions in the U.S., and Carlyle Global Financial Services Partners III LP, a dedicated financial services buyout fund.

The deal is expected to be completed before the end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.