Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Small Arkansas Agency

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has announced an acquisition of the operations of Bowen, Miclette, Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., from Bowen, Miclette, & Britt Insurance Agency in Houston. A spokeswoman said the acquired agency, located in Fort Smith, Ark., has "approximately" six employees. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquired agency is a retail insurance broker offering risk management and insurance products and services with a focus on health care, manufacturing, retail and poultry-processing industries. Clients are primarily in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Gallagher said Philip H. Merry Jr. and his staff will continue to operate in their current location under the direction of Mitchel Brashier, senior regional manager of Gallagher's retail property/casualty brokerage operations.

The acquisition is the seventh Gallagher has announced or completed this year, including a facultative reinsurance broker in Brazil, Securitas Re of Sao Paulo, announced on Feb. 16. That broker was renamed Gallagher Brazil (BestWire, Feb. 17, 2010.) Earlier this month, it acquired Joseph James & Associates, a privately owned insurance agency in Dublin, Ohio (BestWire, June 4, 2010).

Arthur J. Gallagher, an international insurance brokerage and risk-management services firm, ranked fourth in Best's Review magazine's 2009 list of top global brokers with $950 million in brokerage revenues for 2008. It has operations in 15 countries and transacts business in more than 100 countries through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants, Gallagher said.

(By Ron Panko, senior associate editor, Best's Review: Ronald.Panko@ambest.com)