(Bloomberg) — Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is selling 19 million shares of common stock to help fund the purchase of Wesfarmers Ltd.'s insurance brokering operation, as the buyer extends its growth outside the U.S.
The offering would raise $890 million, based on the April 4 closing price of $46.84 for Gallagher. Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. are leading the offering, Itasca, Illinois- based Gallagher said today in a statement.
Wesfarmers, which operates supermarkets and sells coal, chemicals and industrial equipment, said Gallagher agreed to buy its brokerage operations for A$1.01 billion ($935 million) as the Perth, Australia-based company scales back from insurance. Gallagher has been expanding in countries including the U.K. to add clients and increase business with U.S. customers that operate internationally.
"This acquisition represents an important strategic step for our company," Chief Executive Officer J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr. said in a statement. "Our combined operations will become one of the largest insurance brokers in Australia and New Zealand."
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