Herbert Smith Freehills advises The Ardonagh Group on its US$500 million acquisition of BGC Partners insurance broking operations Corant Global

Leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised The Ardonagh Group on its acquisition of BGC Partners' insurance broking operations, Corant Global (which includes both the Ed Broking and Besso businesses), for headline cash consideration of US$500 million. 

The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by partners Barney Hinnigan, Alex Kay, Clive Cunningham, senior associate Martyn Jones and associate Emma Reid. They worked closely with the Ardonagh legal team including Group General Counsel, Geoff Gouriet and Group Legal Counsel, Jennifer Howell. 

Following completion of the acquisition, Ardonagh intends to house this business within Ardonagh Specialty, the group's growth platform for independent brokers such as Price Forbes, Bishopsgate and Compass London Markets. 

Alex Kay commented: 

"We are delighted to have assisted Ardonagh with such an important transaction during a period of significant consolidation within the insurance broking sector. We look forward to working with them to obtain the required approvals and successfully completing the acquisition."

This transaction follows a string of recent transactions on which the firm has worked with Ardonagh, including the acquisition of a majority interest in specialist M&A insurance broker Hemsley Wynne Furlonge and the agreed acquisition of Usay Group Limited, one of the largest consumer personal medical insurance and protection insurance brokers in the UK.