Howden-Tiger born as TigerRisk and Howden agree terms

A tie up between  TigerRisk Partners and  Howden Group,  a deal first mooted in mid-May, has now been confirmed, Intelligent Insurer can reveal.

In a statement, seen by this publication, Rod Fox (pictured, right) and Rob Bredahl, executive chairman and CEO respectively of  TigerRisk, confirmed that they have agreed to a merger with  Howden Group.

TigerRisk will combine with  Howden Re to create  Howden  Tiger, something they said would “best capture the value of the strong brands of both firms”.

The tie up would create a global broker of significant size, boasting reinsurance operations on a par with some of the biggest players in the market, including Aon’s reinsurance unit and Guy Carpenter/JLT Re, which combined in 2019.

“We are delighted to announce that  TigerRisk Partners has agreed to a merger with  Howden Group, a leading global insurance intermediary based in the UK with over $2.3 billion of annual revenue,” the executives said in a statement.

“The combined firm will continue to have the passion for deal-making, innovation, energy and drive for which we have become known. This platform will give you an even better choice and continued great service.

“The same client teams that serve you now will continue to provide the amazing client experience you expect from us, and our senior management team will remain in place including Rod Fox as Executive Chairman, Rob Bredahl as Chief Executive Officer, and Tim Ronda as President.

“We have known the  Howden Group and their senior management team for years.  We have been impressed by the quality of the company and its people and we are excited about the opportunities the merger will bring for our clients.”

They also stressed that, by combining reinsurance operations,  TigerRisk will benefit from and add  Howden’s expertise in facultative, UK specialty, programs, and binders. The new entity will also have increased scale, retail distribution, broader strategic relationships and an even greater ability to reinvest in the business, they claim.

They also noted the cultural similarity of the two companies as being key to the transaction coming together. “Both firms have client-centric cultures that value and promote teamwork, innovation, and drive.”

TigerRisk will continue to be privately-owned, they stressed. “This means that senior management will have no public market investors, equity analysts, and public company boards to serve, which will allow the senior management of  Howden  Tiger to focus on serving clients.”

They added: “Employee ownership has been a pillar of our organization since inception. TigerRisk employees will become meaningful shareholders in  Howden Group Holdings with a significant interest tied to the performance of  Howden  Tiger. This transaction serves as validation of the platform Tiger has become - a true team, built through the unrelenting effort of every Tiger employee and their commitment to each of our core values.”

TigerRisk was formed in 2008 by industry veterans Rod Fox and Jim Stanard. It has gone through a number of changes in the recent past, including a reshuffle of its executive team and sale of a portion of business to private equity firm Flexpoint Ford in April 2020, in a move it said, at that time, will help navigate a “difficult period and capitalise on a dynamic competitive landscape”.

In their statement, they added: “We would also like to thank Flexpoint Ford for their partnership and their instrumental role in the evolution of  Tiger and wish them all the success in the future.

“Our unwavering priority has always been our clients and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working with you with our enhanced value proposition. We are here to help in any way possible and firmly believe this transaction bolsters our ability to assist you as the leading risk, capital, and strategic advisor in the market.”

Did you get value from this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.