Ardonagh bolsters Swiss market presence with SRB acquisition

By Rebecca Delaney

April 24 - (The Insurer) - Private equity-backed Ardonagh Group has continued its run of acquisitions in continental Europe with a deal for Zurich-based broker SRB Assekuranz Broker AG.

Founded in 1980, SRB is focused on corporate customers, primarily in the industrial sector.

Following the acquisition, the SRB management team will continue to lead the business, which manages a premium pool of approximately 120 million euros.

SRB has an existing relationship with MDS Group, Ardonagh’s platform for Latin America and the rest of the world. Upon completion of the transaction, SRB will operate as part of MDS Group.

Other recent moves by broker consolidator Ardonagh across continental Europe include the acquisition of significant stakes in Private Insurance Assuradeuren and Private Insurance Nederland earlier this year, two prominent players in the Dutch insurance market for high-net-worth individuals.

Following these deals, earlier this month Ardonagh Netherlands named Wim Hekstra as CEO.

The group's specialty broker Price Forbes has also made moves on the continent with the build-out of its newly launched Turkish operations with several appointments, including Ali Arısoy as chief broking officer and Gökçen Süer as chairman and CEO.