Financial Institutions M&A
Financial institutions are operating in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment.
Geopolitical tensions, the deepening challenges associated with climate change, the pace of growth and innovation in digitalisation, and the fragmented global economic picture are all impacting on the way financial services firms are both operating and being regulated.
As a consequence, governments and regulators have become much more proactive with a view to improving oversight and regulation. The operations, structure and location of regulated businesses are continuously being adapted in response to these developments.
Your professional advisers should give you a commercial advantage in dealing with these changes. We have worked extensively over many years with a broad range of financial institutions, both domestic and global, including banks, insurers and investment managers in relation to both acquisition and divestiture activities.
In fact, Matheson’s Financial Institutions Group has the only dedicated financial institutions M&A team in the Irish market. The strength of our team is that we have a team of M&A lawyers who sit in the Financial Institutions Group and work solely for financial institutions clients. As a result of this, we understand the financial services industry and the entities which participate in the industry and as your M&A lawyers, we can therefore provide you with a bespoke service which is relevant to your industry.
Experience Highlights
The Financial Institutions Group have unrivalled experience in the financial institutions M&A sector, having advised:
- IFG Group PLC on all aspects of its £206 million recommended public takeover by Epiris LLP.
- Willis Towers Watson on its $30 billion merger with Aon, the largest M & A transaction globally in H1 2020.
- Aviva on the acquisition of Friends First, a large Irish domestic life insurance company.
- Irish Life, Ireland’s largest life insurer, on the acquisition of Aviva Health and Glohealth Financial Services Limited.
- Franklin Templeton on its acquisition of Legg Mason and subsequent intergroup re-organisation.
- Allied Irish Banks, Ireland’s largest retail and commercial bank, on various proposed acquisitions in Ireland through auction process and otherwise.
- AmTrust on the sale of its surety and credit reinsurance operations to Liberty Mutual.
- Monument Re, a Bermuda-based asset intensive reinsurer, on the acquisition of the Irish assurance and insurance operations of Barclays plc.
- Harcourt Life on the separate acquisitions of Augura Life and Scottish Mutual International Limited, two Ireland based providers of assurance policies and pension plans.
- LCCG, a specialist European life Assurance Company, on the acquisition of IBRC Assurance Company Limited, a provider of investment orientated life assurance and pensions products.
- Battery Ventures on a significant investment in Soldo, an Irish based FinTech company, as part of its $61 million Series B fundraising round.
