Howden acquires Brazilian broker

Howden Broking Group, part of Hyperion Insurance Group, has acquired Brazil-based Harmonia Corretora de Seguros from Hub International.

Harmonia is a full service insurance brokerage headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. It specialises  in employment benefits and commercial lines.

Chairman Jose Roberto Conduta, chief executive officer (CEO) Priscila Conduta Elias, and others, will continue to lead and run the operations.

David Howden, CEO of Hyperion, said: “I’m extremely pleased to welcome Harmonia to the Group. The continuing leadership of the founding family means Harmonia will retain the entrepreneurial spirit that reflects our own, and that has made it such a leader in the Brazilian market. It will help us develop our business in Brazil, which is a crucial market for international growth.”

“The opportunity to add this high growth company to our Iberoamerican platform means we will be able to offer a greater range of products to our clients, as we look to expand further into the Latin American market”.

Martin Hughes, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Hub, said: “We have been pleased with the contribution that Harmonia has made to Hub. However, we have made the strategic decision to focus on North American opportunities, which have been more robust than at any time in recent memory.”

Neil Morrison, Hub’s executive vice president, operations, added:  “Harmonia more than met our expectations for growth and margin. While we are disappointed to see them leave, we worked closely with them to find a new partner to support their plans for the future, and Hyperion is an ideal fit.”

Conduta said: “We are delighted to be joining Howden Broking Group, with its culture that is similar to our own, and the know-how and global reach that they have. We are looking forward to helping Howden further develop their plans in Latin America.”