AUB to acquire Tysers in £500m deal

Australian broking and underwriting group AUB Group is to acquire Lloyd’s broker Tysers from Odyssey Investment Partners.

The deal will see Sydney-based AUB pay £500m ($614.6m) for 100% of Tysers, the sixth-largest wholesale broker in the Lloyd’s market, with an additional deferred consideration of up to £100m. Tysers places around £2bn of premium. 

The purchase price of £500m represents close to 12 times Tysers’ full-year 2022 pro-forma earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

The future of Tysers has been the subject of much speculation over the past year. In May 2021 it was reported Odyssey, which owns Tysers’ parent company, Integro, had ordered the company be made ready for sale, with many brokers tipped as potential buyers. 

In October of last year it was being reported a sale to broker Miller was close, but nothing further emerged and it was presumed the parties were unable to come to a final agreement.

AUB said the acquisition, which is expected to complete in the second half of this year, will provide access to a “diverse range of risks and insurance types for our clients and broker networks in Australia and New Zealand”.

In the short-term, AUB expects to direct around £110m of premium to Tysers from existing and future placements within its broking and agency networks, “creating an uplift in margin and revenue” for the group. 

In addition, direct access to Lloyd’s and international markets will provide AUB’s broking network and underwriting agencies with capacity to write additional new business and “deliver differentiated, exclusive products”. 

“Tysers’ specialist capabilities will allow AUB to design and deliver market-leading products for AUB’s broker and agency networks and to enhance the ability to establish new agencies and secure Lloyd’s binders,” the group said. 

AUB is targeting around £14m of costs savings. 

Tysers’ existing management team will continue to lead day-to-day operations, with AUB Group chief executive, Mike Emmett, and AUB non-executive director Peter Harmer joining the broker’s board.

“This agreement represents an important next step in the AUB strategy to build out our client offering and risk expertise,” Emmett said.

Tysers chief executive, Clive Buesnel, said: “AUB is the perfect partner to continue our proud history and support our growth ambitions. The strategic and culture alignment is clear, and we are excited about executing our future opportunities together.”

AUB plans to fund the acquisition with a £200m equity raised, a £100m share placement with Oydssey and new debt facility.

Separately, AUB and Australian broking group PSC Insurance have entered into a non-binding agreement under which PSC will subsequently acquire a 50% stake in Tysers’ UK retail division.

This joint venture deal will be at the same multiple and on the same commercial terms as AUB initial acquisition of Tysers. 

PSC chief executive, Tony Robinson, said the joint venture “is in line with our strategy to grow in the UK and diversify our insurance intermediary business”. 

Integro bought Tysers in 2018 and the broker has been expanding, subsequently buying RFIB in 2020.

Tysers was founded in 1820 and is one of the oldest remaining Lloyd’s brokers, with more than 1,100 employees in 140 countries across the world.

Jeff McKibben, senior managing principal at Odyssey, said: “We believe AUB Group will be a good strategic fit for the business as it continues its post-Covid earnings recovery.”