Benzinga | Nov 22, 2021 01:15PM EST

BRP Group Enters Into Agreement For Burnham Benefits And Wood Gutmann & Bogart Insurance Brokers To Partner; Terms Not Disclosed

BRP Group, Inc. ("BRP Group" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:BRP), an independent insurance distribution firm delivering tailored insurance solutions today announced that, through its indirect subsidiaries (including Burnham Benefits Insurance Services, LLC ("Burnham")), BRP Group has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Wood Gutmann & Bogart Insurance Brokers and certain of its affiliates and related entities (collectively, "WGB"). Based in Tustin, California, WGB is a full-service middle-market brokerage firm that provides a complete range of Commercial Insurance, Employee Benefits, and Private Client Services.



The Partnership, BRP Group's nomenclature for a strategic acquisition, is expected to close on or around December 1, 2021, subject to certain closing conditions. Following closing, WGB's current Commercial Insurance and Private Client Services practices will operate as Burnham WGB Insurance Solutions, and WGB's current Employee Benefits practice will operate under the Burnham Benefits name.

"WGB and Burnham have deep roots from many years of working closely together and having trusted compatibility," said Kristen Allison, Regional President of Burnham. "Through our balanced expertise in the Employee Benefits and Property & Casualty verticals, our firms have dovetailed each other nicely, often sharing clients and always having mutual respect for one another. With Burnham and WGB under one unified roof, we look forward to leveraging our entrepreneurial passion to accelerate our growth, showcase our insights, resources and expertise as choice leaders in our industry and attract the best talent to our stronger, combined firms."

This Partnership, which brings with it approximately 130 colleagues from WGB to combine with Burnham's 150 colleagues, adds meaningful scale to BRP Group's West Coast operations. With WGB and Burnham, this Partnership creates a top brokerage firm in California based on client revenue.

WGB's middle-market commercial risk management expertise in key markets and industries, including Food & Beverage, Construction, Real Estate, Technology, Manufacturing, Security, and Environmental, is highly complementary to Burnham's existing Employee Benefits, Commercial Risk and Wealth Management expertise.

"We could not be more excited to be joining forces with BRP Group and the Burnham team in California," said Kevin Bogart, Chief Executive Officer of WGB. "We are firm believers in the importance of culture at WGB and saw in BRP Group a true alignment of commitments and core beliefs -- to offer innovative solutions to risk management, to seek and promote the most elite professionals within our industry, and to consistently deliver world-class service with personal touch and care. This Partnership brings together organizations that are culturally and philosophically aligned at the highest levels, and we look forward to growing our presence in both California and the Western U.S. while providing both the framework and stability for the future leaders of our combined firm to thrive and carry forward our mission as passionate advocates."

"This Partnership with WGB represents a major milestone in adding critical commercial insurance expertise to our West Coast operations," said Trevor Baldwin, Chief Executive Officer of BRP Group. "The WGB team has a long track record of working collaboratively with the Burnham team, and we are thrilled to welcome them to the BRP Group family. We believe that the combination of WGB's commercial insurance expertise and Burnham's employee benefits expertise will allow us to offer clients a truly comprehensive suite of solutions to meet all of their insurance needs."

MarshBerry acted as exclusive financial advisor to WGB in the transaction.