EMEA insurance brokers remain attractive amid shrinking M&A volume in Q2

Insurance M&A deal activity in Europe, the Middle East and Africa continued to decline in the second quarter of 2026, according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

There were 41 transactions in the region during the second quarter, compared with 79 deals in the same period in 2025. A total of 91 announced deals were recorded in the second quarters of 2024 and 2023, and 97 in the second quarter of 2022.

Acquisitions involving insurance brokers accounted for most of the deal activity in the region. The UK, which was the most active location for dealmaking during the quarter, had 12 transactions with insurance broker targets out of a total of 18 insurance M&A deals.

One noteworthy deal in the UK was B.P. Marsh & Partners PLC's acquisition of an additional 2% equity stake in wholesale insurance broker Pantheon Specialty Ltd. in April. The deal raised B.P. Marsh's total shareholding in Pantheon to 41%. The follow-on equity purchase was also the only deal with a disclosed transaction value during the quarter, at $315.4 million.

JMG Group Investments Ltd. had a particularly active second quarter. The company said it acquired three insurance brokers in May: Jukes Insurance Brokers, RP Lovatt Insurance and Nene Valley Insurance Practice. JMG also announced its acquisition of Langton London Insurance Brokers Ltd. and Portsoken Ltd. in June.

Insurance brokers in the UK also attracted interest from international companies. Illinois-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced its acquisition of Bridge Insurance Brokers Ltd. in April, while Indiana-based Doxa Insurance Holdings LLC agreed to acquire Eaton Gate Group as part of its international expansion plan. Australia's ATC Insurance Solutions Pty. Ltd. also acquired Frontier Global UW Ltd. in May.

Other noteworthy deals include Vitruvian Partners LLP's acquisition of an undisclosed stake in Africa Specialty Risk Ltd. and ANV Group Holdings Ltd.'s definitive agreement to acquire Assured Underwriting Group Ltd.

– Use the screener to access M&A data on the S&P Capital IQ Pro platform. – Read a review of insurance M&A activity in Asia-Pacific in the second quarter of 2026. – Read about potential M&A activity in the global insurance sector on In Play Today and a summary of recently announced deals on M&A Replay.

Active quarter for Italian, French insurance brokers

In Italy, insurance broker acquisitions comprised seven of the nine announced deals in the second quarter.

OneItalia Alliance announced its acquisition of Strategica Group in April, a leading provider of insurance brokerage services for the large corporate and small and medium-sized enterprises segments in Italy. The transaction involves Strategica Insurance Management Srl, Strategica Consulting Srl and Strategica Services Srl, as well as a minority stake in Assicurare Srl.

Adenes Italia Srl had acquired a majority stake in Società Generale di Servizi Assicurativi Srl (Sogesa), which was also announced in April. The transaction consolidates Adenes Group's positioning in Italy as a full-service claims management operator. Area Broker SpA also unveiled its acquisition of Foedus Srl during the month.

In May, Wopta Assicurazioni Srl announced its acquisition of a 100% stake in Zanni Broker Srl. Meanwhile, Edge Group Srl entered a definitive agreement to acquire DS Insurance Broker Srl on May 21.

Italy-based Wide Group SpA acquired two insurance brokers during the second quarter. The Pollen Street-backed Wide completed its acquisitions of FINGEA Broker di Assicurazioni and Assimood Broker Srl in June.

Three of the four announced deals in France in the second quarter were for insurance brokers. Intact Financial Corp. acquired a 36% stake in Cartan Trade SAS in April, and SIACI Saint Honoré SA completed a majority stake acquisition in Reunion Aerienne & Spatiale SAS in May. Belfius Insurance SA acquired Leocare SAS in June, marking its entry into the French digital insurance market.

There was only one deal announced in Africa during the quarter: Absa Capital Securities Proprietary Ltd.'s acquisition of a beneficial interest in Old Mutual Ltd. The deal raised Absa's shareholding in the South African insurer to 5.56%.