Arthur J Gallagher has agreed to buy BCHR Holdings, the business trading as Buck, for $600m (£543m).
The transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2023. Gallagher, an insurance brokerage, risk management and consultancy firm said this latest acquisition would broaden and enhance its client offering.
Buck is a leading provider of retirement, HR and employee benefits consulting and administration services, both in the UK and across the US and Canada. The firm, which has been in business for more than 100 years now has over 2,300 employers, which includes more than 220 actuaries.
Gallagher chairman, president and CEO J Patrick Gallagher, Jr says: “The complementary strengths of Buck’s defined benefit offerings, investment consulting, digital employee engagement platform and international footprint, the acquisition will broaden, deepen and enhance our client offerings.”
He added that Gallagher Benefit Services’ mission was to offer a comprehensive suite of products and services that allows employers to attract, engage and retain talent. He adds that this is at the heart of the company’s ‘Better Works’ value proposition.
Gallagher adds that this acquisition will enhance its suite of professional services, while also expanding its value proposition within retirement, benefits and HR consulting, administration and technology. It will also enable Gallaghers to add “bSuite,” a leading, proprietary software platform for benefits administration and employee engagement, as well as offering cross-selling opportunities between current benefits and property and casualty clients.
Buck CEO Jack Freker described this as an “exciting milestone” for Buck, saying he was delighted that the sale would be going through. Freker adds: “Together we’ll continue to build upon our excellent market reputations, breadth of talent, commitment to DE&I and client-first mindset as we serve many of the world’s leading corporations and brands.”
In the UK Gallagher’s former CEO of its UK employee benefits consulting division, Nick Burns, recently left the company. At the start of December the employee engagement company Reward Gateway announced that Burns would be their new CEO.