Ed, the London-based reinsurance, wholesale and specialty broker, announced that it would be acquired by a subsidiary of BGC Partners, Inc (BGC), a global brokerage and financial technology company.

Financial details of the deal, which is subject to a number of conditions including regulatory approval, were not released in the announcement.

Under the terms of the agreement, the BGC subsidiary will acquire 100 percent of Ed which includes broking operations under the Ed brand in UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Miami and China, as well as its German marine broking arm, Junge.

The acquisition also includes Ed’s MGA operations: UK-based Globe Underwriting in the UK, Epsilon with offices in Australia, and Cooper Gay France, based in Paris.

The agreement expands BGC’s insurance division, established in 2017, when it acquired Besso Insurance Group Ltd., a Lloyd’s broker with operations in the UK, Brazil, Dubai and Brazil.

“We are delighted to reach an agreement to purchase Ed, a leading independent Lloyd’s of London broker with a global footprint,” said Shaun D. Lynn, president of BGC Partners, which is headquartered in London. “It will be an important acquisition with respect to our strategy of building the insurance brokerage division within the company,” he added.

“To be able to announce the agreement with BGC is tremendously satisfying, given their ambition and appetite for growth,” said Steve Hearn, group CEO of Ed. “We feel that the best fit and the strongest future for us is with BGC, one of the leading brokerage firms in the world. With them, we are poised to make the next leap forward to redefine insurance broking.”

A representative of Ed said the broker would maintain its brand as “Ed.”

Source: Ed