Ryan Specialty to acquire Castel Underwriting Agencies, terms not disclosed

Ryan Specialty announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Castel Underwriting Agencies Limited, a Managing General Underwriting platform, from Arch Financial Holdings Limited and minority shareholders. Castel is headquartered in London, England with additional offices in the Netherlands and Belgium and was founded in 2014. Castel consists of thirteen unique MGUs, each of which has expertise in a specific product niche. Together, the MGUs represent a distinctive and diverse portfolio of underwriting expertise including Transactional Liability, Renewable Energy, Construction, and Marine, among other specialty lines of business. The breadth of Castel’s offerings and its geographic concentration in the UK and Europe add significant capabilities to Ryan Specialty’s robust managing general underwriter portfolio. Commenting on this acquisition, Patrick G. Ryan, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Ryan Specialty, said, “Castel is a first-class organization with a history of exceptional performance on all metrics, including underwriting profit and growth. Bringing Castel into Ryan Specialty expands our UK and European footprint in delegated authority, and the lines of business underwritten by these MGUs are both complementary and accretive to our firm. We are very much looking forward to further expanding with this very talented team.” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close during the first half of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.