Brown & Brown recently announced the acquisition of RSC Topco, the holding company for
The responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
What activity are you noticing in the broker M&A market and what does it mean?
One thing we continue to see is activity persisting across all deal sizes, from very small agencies with a couple million dollars in revenue to large-scale mega deals. Overall, the market remains very robust. In addition to the steady volume of deals, the trend toward mega deals is especially notable. Brown & Brown acquiring Accession was the most recent example, but we have also seen Gallagher acquire AssuredPartners and, prior to that, Aon acquiring NFP.
While there has been talk of some larger brokers pursuing IPOs, we have not seen much movement there. Instead, these mega deals remain the primary exit path. We also continue to see brokers using M&A as an inorganic growth engine, with some firms expanding into adjacent areas like wealth management and financial advisory to complement their P&C and benefits capabilities. I expect we will continue to see this type of activity. Perhaps next year we may start to see more IPO exits emerge alongside ongoing M&A.
What are your thoughts on Brown & Brown acquiring Accession?
This was a great acquisition for Brown & Brown. It is a very complementary deal. Often with these large transactions, there can be a lot of overlap in the markets both firms serve, so you end up with a one plus one equals 1.5 scenario because of that redundancy. In this case, Accession brings a strong presence in niche markets and a distinct capability set that adds to Brown & Brown's strong middle market position.
There is very little overlap between the two, making this truly accretive with limited cannibalization of existing business. In addition, Accession's large wealth management and benefits practice will expand Brown & Brown's capabilities in those areas and create potential for cross-selling opportunities.
What do you see ahead related to M&A activity?
I think we will continue to see more of these combinations among the top 10 and top 20 players. Over the longer term, we may start to see some exits through IPOs, but for now, I expect we will see more mega deals rather than IPO activity.
Also, I think there will be a growing emphasis on acquiring businesses that bring differentiated capabilities, not just top-line revenue. Investors and acquirers will increasingly focus on building better revenue-generating engines that drive stronger long-term performance, rather than simply scaling for size.
Looking ahead, I think we will see more deals focused on acquiring capabilities rather than simply adding revenue or sales resources.
How do emerging technologies like AI and digital transformation play a role in M&A?
In this space, organizations that successfully integrate acquired assets into a unified operating model can use AI, Generative AI, and digitization as powerful differentiators. We have been helping clients along this journey in particular.
However, for those that have not integrated their capabilities, it becomes much harder to extract value from AI and digital transformation. I think we will see increased scrutiny from investors and analysts, who will be looking closely at whether firms are doing what is necessary to capture that value.
