South Korea’s DB Insurance Co. agreed to buy US specialty insurer Fortegra Group for $1.65 billion, in what would be the biggest US acquisition by a non-life insurer from the country.
The Seoul-based company will purchase 100% of Fortegra’s outstanding shares from investors including Warburg Pincus in cash using internal resources, it said in a statement Friday. The deal will expand DB Insurance’s foothold in the US property and casualty market as well as the surety and warranty sectors.
Fortegra, which is a unit of Tiptree Inc., scrapped its planned initial public offering last year, citing market conditions. The deal is subject to Tiptree’s approval and expected to close in mid-2026.
The acquisition marks the “first-ever” purchase of a US insurer by a Korean non-life company, and represents a “turning point” for DB Insurance in its journey to become a global insurer, Ki-Hyun Park, head of global business at DB Insurance said in the statement.
The Fortegra Group has a portfolio in specialty insurance and operates in the US and Europe.
Barclays Plc. and BofA Securities advised Fortegra, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised DB Insurance, which also tapped Tatsuhiko Hoshina as global strategy adviser.
Topics Mergers & Acquisitions USA Carriers