Hub International to Acquire First Southeast Insurance

North American brokerage Hub International Ltd. continues to expand, signing a definitive agreement to acquire First Southeast Insurance Services Inc. of Charleston, S.C. for $38 million in cash.

Founded in 1995, First Southeast offers property/casualty, employee benefits and personal lines products and services through several units, including Kinghorn Insurance Services Inc; Associated Insurors; Johnson Insurance Associates Inc; Peoples Insurance Agency; Employer Benefits Strategies; Somer-Pardue Insurance Services and Benefit Administrators Inc.

Hub is acquiring First Southeast from First Financial Holdings Inc. As part of the transaction, both Jimmy Rowe, president of First Southeast, and Allison Rhyne, executive vice president, will join Hub.

"First Southeast will create a new regional platform for Hub in the Carolinas," First Financial President and Chief Executive Officer R. Wayne Hall said in a conference call. He said net income from First Southeast is about $2 million annually.

The transaction is expected to close in June.

The deal is the latest acquisition for Hub. Earlier this month, it acquired the assets of the Transportation Group Ltd., a Texas-based brokerage firm that specializes in insurance and risk management for the trucking industry. In January, Hub's Totten Insurance Group Inc. acquired the assets of Cule Insurance, expanding its reach and offerings in Canada. Cule (Canadian Underwriters for Licensed Establishments) is a brokerage wholesaler based in Toronto with specific expertise in hospitality and hard-to-place property accounts (BestWire, Jan. 26, 2011).

Other acquisitions by Chicago-based Hub include the assets of Farr Insurance Group, a Venice, Fla.-based insurance broker (BestWire, Jan. 5, 2011); Twin Falls, Idaho-based brokerage Obenchain Insurance Agency (BestWire, Nov. 3, 2010); Florida Federal Insurance Co., a Boynton Beach-based personal and commercial insurance brokerage, and Las Vegas-based McFadden Insurance Agency Inc. (BestWire, Sept. 2, 2010).

Privately held Hub International, which provides property/casualty, reinsurance, life/health, employee benefits, investment and risk-management products and services, is the 11th-largest global insurance broker based on 2009 total revenue of $726 million, according to Best's Review magazine's annual ranking.

(By Diana Rosenberg, senior associate editor, BestWeek)