Global insurance M&A volume hits highest growth rate for 10 years

Written by Adam Cadle

18/08/2022

The volume of M&A in the global insurance industry has reached its highest rate of growth for ten years, up 9.5% to 242 compared to 221 deals in H2 2021, Clyde & Co’s Insurance Growth Report 2022 has revealed.

While the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region has seen significant growth of 33.3% in the same period (12 deals rising to 16 deals), the global trend has largely been driven by the much larger US market, which has seen a 22% increase in transactions from 108 to 132. Activity has dropped back slightly in Europe (74 to 67) but held steady in Asia Pacific.

Clyde & Co said a number of factors are driving deals. “Private equity firms and asset managers are still keen to explore either entry into the insurance market or expansion of existing footprints,” it said. “Flagging insurtech valuations mean acquisitions are increasingly attractive to both PE investors and traditional carriers seeking to increase technological capabilities. And rising interest rates promise better investment returns for long duration businesses, while helping insurers to rebalance portfolios.”

According to the report, there has been an uptick in mega deals. Thirteen deals in H1 2022 were valued at over US$1bn compared to 25 in the whole of 2021, and the US tops the leaderboard in this area with the merger of US-headquartered Apollo Global Management and Athene Holdings in a deal valued at US$7.7bn in H1 2022.

Eleven of the top 20 largest deals by value involve acquirors from the Americas. The US has six of the top 20 deals, Bermuda three and Canada and Colombia one each.

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