Ascension Insurance Inc., a Kansas City, Mo.-based insuranceagency, announced the acquisition of Charlotte, N.C.-based FirstCharter Insurance Services Inc. from Fifth Third Bank Corp.Transaction terms were not released.

First Charter will be renamed Ascension Insurance Agency Inc., afull-service insurance agency offering property-casualty, employeebenefits services and personal lines insurance.

Ascension said First Charter is North Carolina's third largestdomiciled insurance agency with 90 employees and four offices, andis licensed in 25 states.

Ascension is a full-service insurance and employee benefitsagency providing high-level brokerage and risk management servicesspecifically to middle-market companies nationwide. The firm saysit has over 320 employees and over 20 locations nationally.

Ascension is a privately held firm, with private equitypartners, Parthenon Capital and Century Capital Management. Thecompany said it expects to grow to $200 million in revenue over thenext four years.

Leonard P. Kline Jr., president and chief executive officer ofAscension, told National Underwriter that the agency was formed inJuly last year and has made a number of acquisitions this year,rising to $54 million in revenue today. He said the agencycurrently sees a number of great prospects and is seeking to makemore acquisitions in the future.

As far as the acquisition of First Charter Insurance Services,the deal was made possible after Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bankacquired the bank First Charter Corp. last year in a deal worthmore than $1 billion. Mr. Kline said Fifth Third does not hold ontoinsurance agencies.

This is Ascension's first move into North Carolina, and the newAscension Insurance Agency in North Carolina will operate as astandalone profit center.

"We believe that joining Ascension will be a great advantage toour company, our employees and our customers," Clarkson B. McLean,president of First Charter, said in a statement.

He added, "The Ascension business model allows us to continue toprovide our customers with high-value services and products, whileproviding the new resources and expertise we need to increasemarket share. In an industry that is changing every day, ourassociation with Ascension will allow us to maintain both ourculture and the business agility we need to be successful in thelong term."