Zurich to invest in ICEN Risk
Zurich has agreed to acquire a minority stake in ICEN Risk , a company that specializes in insuring mergers and acquisitions.
Founded in 2018 and based in London, ICEN has “rapidly become a market leader” in private company M&A insurance, with GWP of £70 million and a 25-strong team with a presence in Spain, Italy and Austria, and Coverholder status through Lloyd’s of London. The company offers coverage for Warranty & Indemnity, Tax, IP, and Environmental risks in European mid-market M&A transactions.
The transaction will see Zurich take a “significant minority” in ICEN and will help support its growth into North America and large European markets such as Germany.
“Icen’s talented team and our blue-chip capacity providers have helped accelerate our growth in a market which has expanded 50% in the last 5 years. We are delighted that our success to date has culminated in this investment by one of the world’s leading insurers. Zurich’s global brand, international network, and product expertise will take us to the next level in the specialist M&A insurance market and deliver more choice for clients.” – Dawn Bhoma, Managing Principal of ICEN.
“Our leading expertise, innovation-first approach and consistent track record of underwriting profitability stands ICEN apart and makes our partnership with Zurich a natural long-term fit. With Zurich, we are uniquely positioned to capitalise on the strong growth of the £2.5bn M&A insurance market as private equity, investment funds and corporates seek to protect assets and mitigate risk in an increasingly complex dealmaking environment. We look forward to working with our existing partners to develop specialist products that address emerging risks and expand into new geographies particularly North America and major European jurisdictions such as Germany.” – Robert Brown, Managing Principal of Icen.
“This partnership is ideally timed to capitalize on market shifts and the long-term growth potential in M&A insurance. ICEN has become the quality player in this niche sector in a short space of time and Rob and Dawn’s track record in the market is unrivalled. Zurich’s investment also aligns with its strategic growth ambitions in the Specialties market and helps enhance our capabilities and service offering for our customers.” – Stephen Moss, Global Head of Financial Lines and Cyber at Zurich.
