BB&T to acquire CGSC North America in $500m deal

US insurance broker BB&T Corporation is to acquire CGSC North America Holdings from wholesale insurance broker Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford.

Under the terms of the agreement, BB&T will acquire CGSC North America Holdings, which it calls Swett & Crawford, for $500 million in cash.

The company said the transaction will add more than $200 million in annual revenue to BB&T Insurance. BB&T expects to record approximately $500 million of goodwill and intangibles as a result of this acquisition.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2016. This transaction excludes Swett & Crawford's non-US business, which accounts for less than five percent of its total revenue.

Currently, BB&T's wholesale insurance operations include property and casualty broker and managing general agent CRC Insurance Services, Crump Life Insurance Services and managing general underwriter AmRisc. Including its retail operations, BB&T Insurance is the fifth largest insurance broker in the US by revenue.

"Swett & Crawford nicely enhances our insurance business and increases and diversifies our overall fee income profile," said Kelly King, BB&T's chairman and chief executive officer.

"With its long history and broad offerings, Swett & Crawford is a great strategic fit for BB&T."

John Howard, chairman and chief executive officer of BB&T Insurance, added: "We have admired the Swett & Crawford business model for many years. This represents a compelling opportunity to further build BB&T Insurance with the addition of a world-class company with a strong and talented team of industry specialists."

The capital used in this transaction represents a reallocation of the remainder of BB&T's 2015 CCAR approved share repurchases.

Deutsche Bank Securities served as financial advisor to BB&T and Willkie Farr & Gallagher served as legal counsel to BB&T in this transaction.