Howden Group Holdings Ltd. said on Monday it has raised 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion) to invest in mergers and acquisitions, as it promoted Peter Blanc to head of M&A in a newly created role.
He will report to David Howden, CEO of Howden Group, and help expand the brokerage’s geographic reach and product expertise in retail brokerage, reinsurance brokerage and underwriting. Mr. Blanc is currently executive chairman of Howden UK and Ireland, and prior to that he was CEO of Aston Lark, which Howden acquired in 2021.
Howden has secured over £875 million ($1.09 billion) in debt and equity funding, increasing its total cash and other facilities available to invest in M&A, talent and other initiatives to more than $1
.2 billion, says the London-based broker said in a statement.Howden completed a seven-year, $500 million loan on March 24 with more than 60 lenders providing capital, including more than 10 new lenders.
Its revolving credit facility also increased from £185 million ($230.6 million) to £360 million ($448.7 million) across a range of banking relationships, Howden said.
The $1.2 billion capital raising gives Howden the “financial firepower” to “accelerate in pace” and develop its European and global footprint, Howden said in the statement.
Howden formed Howden Tiger in January after acquiring US reinsurance broker TigerRisk Partners LLC last year. Group revenue rose 60% year-on-year to £1.84bn ($2.28bn) in the financial year ending September 2022.
Mäklarhuset completed 31 acquisitions in 2022 and now has over 14,500 employees in 50 countries.
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