DB Insurance Completes Acquisition of U.S. Insurer Fortegra Group

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[Financial News] DB Insurance is moving faster to expand its global presence after finalizing its acquisition of U.S. insurer Fortegra Group.
DB Insurance said in a disclosure on the 22nd that it will complete the process of acquiring a 100% stake in Fortegra, which it signed last September, on the 30th. The deal is valued at a total of $1.65 billion, or about 2.3 trillion won.
The transaction is significant as the first acquisition of a U.S. insurer by a Korean non-life insurer and the largest overseas merger and acquisition in the industry’s history.
Founded in 1978, Fortegra Group is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It operates specialty insurance, credit and surety insurance, and insurance services businesses. Based on specialized underwriting and risk management capabilities in the United States and Europe, it has built a stable earnings structure.
Fortegra has maintained a combined ratio of around 90% for a long period and is considered to have a well-balanced business portfolio spanning insurance and insurance services.
For this year, it posted annual gross written premium and premium equivalents of about $3.35 billion, or roughly 4.8 trillion won, and net income of $160 million, or about 200 billion won. It currently operates across the United States and in 12 European countries, including the United Kingdom and Italy, and holds an A- rating from AM Best.
Through the acquisition, DB Insurance expects to secure a business base in the United States and Europe, the world’s largest non-life insurance markets, and strengthen earnings stability by diversifying across countries and insurance lines.
DB Insurance entered the U.S. market in 1984 with the establishment of its Guam branch and has continued expanding its overseas business since then. In particular, it has pursued a strategy to build a second DB Insurance in the United States, and the latest acquisition is also described as a strategic decision to strengthen its global competitiveness.
Meanwhile, DB Insurance has continued to expand overseas, focusing on the United States, China and Southeast Asia, to respond to slowing growth in the domestic insurance market. Last year, it also completed acquisitions of stakes in Vietnamese insurers VNI and BSH, accelerating its push into local markets.
imne@fnnews.com Hong Ye-ji Reporter