BB&T Corporation (NYSE:BBT) has announced that BB&T Insurance Holdings has agreed to acquire Regions Insurance Group (Regions Insurance) which is owned by Regions Financial Corp (NYSE:RF).
Regions Insurance is one of the major insurance brokers and has client based of 60,000 in Indiana, Texas and Southeast. The company offers employee, casualty and property benefits to businesses using a retail network of insurance professionals. This transaction will add incremental balance to the insurance business of BB&T between its retail and wholesale insurance channels. After this takeover, the retail network of BB&T will be in a position to contribute almost half of the revenue from insurance brokerage.
While commenting on the transaction, Kelly S. King, the chairman and chief executive officer of BB&T said the acquisition of Regions Insurance will boost the company’s retail insurance network and avail new opportunities to build footprint in core BB&T markets throughout Southeast. He added that with the acquisition, BB&T will significantly increase its contribution to the company’s insurance brokerage business to up to $2 billion in revenue annually. This, he says, will affirm the company’s commitment to continued growth and expansions.
On the other hand, BB&T Insurance chairman and chief executive officer John Howard said the takeover will help in affirming the company’s position as the fifth biggest insurance broker in the country and around the world. He added that they have a lot of respect and confidence for Regions Insurance, its associates as well as its leadership. He added that the company warmly welcomes Regions Insurance president and chief executive officer Rick Ulmer plus other associates of Regions Insurance who will be crossing over to BB&T Insurance and occupy senior leadership positions. He noted that with a lot of resources made available to this team, they will be well-equipped to address the needs of clients. He expressed confidence that the two companies will be compatible to each other.
This deal is expected to be sealed in the third quarter of this year after satisfying all the closing conditions. The terms of the deal are yet to be disclosed by both parties. The capital which will be used in the transaction will have a significant effect on the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review of BB&T for 2018.
