P/C Broker Venbrook Raises $42M in Financing to Help Fund Acquisition

October 20, 2016

M&A deals multiple handshakesVenbrook Group nailed down $42 million in new financing from Madison Capital Funding, a subsidiary of New York Life, and some of the money has already helped back an acquisition that expands its scope in the U.S. Northeast.

Venbrook, an independent property/casualty brokerage firm, said it used an unnamed amount of the debt capital raised to snatch up Brooks Insurance Group, a Manalapan, N.J.-based wholesaler.

Jason Turner, Venbrook’s president and CEO, noted in prepared remarks that the acquisition of Brooks gives it a “top-tier team of seasoned insurance professionals with deep and longstanding relationships in the core northeastern market.”

Turner told Carrier Management that financing from Madison came about because the firm “really liked our steady and consistent growth over the past 20 years.”

“They could see our vision for further acquisitions and other investments, that our P/C business is exploding, that the company has strong cash flow, high margins and low debt,” Turner said by email.

Venbrook, based in Woodland Hills, Calif., caters mostly to middle-market commercial clients in the U.S. Its products and services include retail and wholesale brokerage, program management, and risk management.

Source: Venbrook