The private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. L.L.C. defiedconventional wisdom by entering the mergers and acquisition picturelast week acquiring a majority of the stock of Risk Strategies Co.(RSC), a national insurance and risk management brokerage firmbased in Boston.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Privately held RSC is a P&C and Employee Benefits insurancebroker with a focus on middle market and upper-middle marketcommercial and high-net-worth clients. Its expertise includesmanufacturing, construction, social service, healthcare, highereducation, private equity, private client and real estate. The firmhas 10 offices around the U.S. consisting of 190 employees, 70 ofwhom are in Boston and Randolph, Mass.

Joining RSC as Executive Chairman is Roger E. Egan, a founder ofthe insurance brokerage firm Integro and one time president ofMarsh.

The transaction would appear to buck a trend among privateequity firms. Reflecting on a recent major acquisition by Brown & Brown, Phil Trem, vicepresident of M&A for the agency consulting firm MarshBerrynotes that private equity may be more inclined to cash-in on pastdeals instead of making them.

Guy Carpenter Acquires Maine Consultant

A major brokerage firm that has not been a major acquisitionplayer is reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC. Earlierthis week, the firm says it acquired South Portland, Maine-basedSmith Group, a disability reinsurance risk manager and consultant.The firm will continue to operate out of South Portland. Itsemployees have extensive experience in the areas of actuarialscience, market research and riskmanagement.

HUB Continues Expansion in U.S. AndCanada

In June and early July, Chicago-based insurance broker HubInternational says it has made six acquisitions in the U.S. andCanada. The acquisitions include:

• Insurance broker The Dorsey Group Inc. in Brantford, Ontario,Canada.

• Insurance broker Southeastern Insurance Services Ltd. inSteinbach, Manitoba, Canada.

• Ger-Win Enterprises, Ltd. and St. Andrews Insurance Ltd.(Ger-Win), based in Manitoba.

• Nunavut Insurance Brokers Ltd., a full-service insurancebrokerage firm operating in the Canadian territories of Nunavut andNorthwest Territories.

• The commercial and personal lines book of Lottie Chan, whojoined Hub HKMB as a Vice President.

• Full service insurance broker Beartooth Insurance Inc. withoffices in Red Lodge and Absarokee,Mont.

Confie Seguros Expands New York Presence

Building out its geographic footprint in New York State, ConfieSeguros says it acquired CW Baker Insurance Agency and LewistonInsurance Agency, two providers of standard and preferred personalinsurance located in upstate New York near Niagara Falls.

Founded in 1928, Baker Insurance in Lockport, N.Y. providespersonal and commercial lines insurance. Lewiston Insurance Agencyin Lewiston, N.Y., is a full-service, agency, specializing inP&C insurance for personal and business accounts, includingmunicipalities.

Higginbotham Acquires Dallas Broker

In early June, the Dallas office of Ft. Worth, Texas-basedinsurance broker Higginbotham says it acquired the Sawyer InsuranceAgency.

Founded in 1975 by Mike Sawyer, the firm provides personal andcommercial coverage to 1,900 clients owning property in the U.S.and other countries. At Higginbotham, Sawyer will retain currentclientele and focus his group's practice on producing personalhome, auto and liability accounts.