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BB&T Insurance Holdings to Acquire Regions Insurance Group
WINSTON-SALEM, NC — BB&T Corporation announced  that BB&T Insurance Holdings, Inc. (BB&T Insurance) has reached an agreement to acquire Regions Insurance Group (Regions Insurance) from Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF).
Regions Insurance is an insurance broker serving more than 60,000 clients across the Southeast, Texas and Indiana. It offers property and casualty and employee benefits products to businesses through a retail network of insurance professionals. This acquisition adds incremental balance to BB&T’s insurance business between its wholesale and retail insurance channels. Following this acquisition, BB&T Insurance’s retail network will contribute almost half of its insurance brokerage revenue.
“Regions Insurance significantly adds to our retail insurance network providing us the opportunity to further build out our footprint in core BB&T markets across the Southeast,” said BB&T’s chairman and chief executive officer, Kelly S. King. “With this acquisition, BB&T increases the contribution from our insurance brokerage business to almost $2 billion in annual revenue and further affirms our commitment to growing the business.”
“This acquisition reinforces our current position as the fifth largest insurance broker in the U.S. and globally,” said John Howard, chairman and chief executive officer of BB&T Insurance. “We have great respect for Regions Insurance, its leadership and its associates. We welcome Rick Ulmer, president and chief executive officer of Regions Insurance, and other Regions Insurance associates who will be joining BB&T Insurance in senior leadership and other positions. With a broader set of resources available to them, Regions’ insurance professionals will be better equipped to meet the needs of their clients. We have confidence that our organizations will fit extremely well together.”
This transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Terms were not disclosed. The capital used in this transaction will impact BB&T’s 2018 Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review. The use of capital in this acquisition exceeds BB&T’s internal rate of return hurdles.
