Ascension Insurance Inc., a Kansas City, Mo.-based insurance agency, announced the acquisition of Charlotte, N.C.-based First Charter Insurance Services Inc. from Fifth Third Bank Corp. Transaction terms were not released.
First Charter will be renamed Ascension Insurance Agency Inc., a full-service insurance agency offering property-casualty, employee benefits services and personal lines insurance.
Ascension said First Charter is North Carolina's third largest domiciled insurance agency with 90 employees and four offices, and is licensed in 25 states.
Ascension is a full-service insurance and employee benefits agency providing high-level brokerage and risk management services specifically to middle-market companies nationwide. The firm says it has over 320 employees and over 20 locations nationally.
Ascension is a privately held firm, with private equity partners, Parthenon Capital and Century Capital Management. The company said it expects to grow to $200 million in revenue over the next four years.
Leonard P. Kline Jr., president and chief executive officer of Ascension, told National Underwriter that the agency was formed in July last year and has made a number of acquisitions this year, rising to $54 million in revenue today. He said the agency currently sees a number of great prospects and is seeking to make more acquisitions in the future.
As far as the acquisition of First Charter Insurance Services, the deal was made possible after Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank acquired the bank First Charter Corp. last year in a deal worth more than $1 billion. Mr. Kline said Fifth Third does not hold onto insurance agencies.
This is Ascension's first move into North Carolina, and the new Ascension Insurance Agency in North Carolina will operate as a standalone profit center.
"We believe that joining Ascension will be a great advantage to our 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 to provide our customers with high-value services and products, while providing the new resources and expertise we need to increase market share. In an industry that is changing every day, our association with Ascension will allow us to maintain both our culture and the business agility we need to be successful in the long term."
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