KINGSTON – Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) has increased its investment in CGM Gallagher Group Ltd (CGMG), moving from a minority position to become the majority shareholder in the company.
CGMG is the largest regional insurance and reinsurance intermediary in the English-speaking Caribbean and this transaction, effective May 4, 2012, increases the AJG shareholding from 38.5 per cent to 80 per cent. ICD Group will retain the minority shareholding in CGMG.
Matthew Pragnell, CEO of CGMG, said: “Over the years of AJG’s involvement with CGMG we have developed an extremely close working relationship with them.
AJG brings us market access, good representation into Lloyd’s and the catastrophe markets, and our customers have benefited from their market reach and industry expertise as one of the leading brokerages in the world.
However, CGMG will still be a Caribbean business, operating from the same offices, with the same experienced senior executives offering consistently high levels of service, but now with the opportunity in the future to enhance our teams and offerings across our entire local markets.”
David Ross, CEO of Arthur J. Gallagher International, said: “When the opportunity arose to become the majority shareholder in CGMG, we did not hesitate, based on our belief in the company’s talented team led by Matthew Pragnell and our commitment to the region as a major theatre of operations for AJG.
“The Caribbean is a buoyant market, one in which we wish to strengthen our presence, and further investment in CGMG gives us the ideal platform from which to build additional relationships in the region.”
J. Patrick Gallagher Jr, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said: “We began this partnership in December 2007, and since then CGMG’s spectrum of high-quality services and solid Caribbean presence have become a valued component of Gallagher’s international operations. We are pleased to expand our ownership interest in such an outstanding organization as we continue to grow our footprint successfully in this region.”
Joseph M. Matalon, chairman of the ICD Group, said: “While it was not an easy decision for us to reduce our stake in CGMG, there is no doubt that a greater focus by AJG will enhance the company’s ability to offer the very best to our customers, which has been and will continue to be our principal goal. We remain a significant shareholder and look forward to sharing in a bright future with the CGMG team and our great partners, AJG.”
The CGM Gallagher Group is the largest and one of the oldest insurance brokers in the English-speaking Caribbean, with premiums managed in excess of US$160 million.
CGM Gallagher’s Jamaican roots date back to 1971 as International Insurance Brokers, an ICD-based subsidiary. The company has been growth-focused since its 2004 merger with CGM, headquartered in Barbados.
In 2007 it partnered with United States-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., one of the world’s largest insurance brokers listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
CGM Gallagher Group has offices in Jamaica, Barbados, St Vincent, St Lucia and Grenada; licences to operate in Antigua, Anguilla and Dominica and correspondents in Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the ABC Islands and Puerto Rico. (PR)
