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US multinational Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, which last year was ranked as one of the most acquisitive in Australia, has scooped up Sydney-based Via Financial Group and added it to its global portfolio of insurance and consulting services.
Via Financial Group, which was formed in 2017 through the merger of Monet Financial Solutions and Life Risk Management, operates six offices in Sydney, Byron Bay and the Gold Coast.
"Via Financial Group is a highly regarded firm whose financial advisory services complement our existing benefits consulting operations in Australia," says J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr, the chairman and CEO of the Illinois-based group.
"I am excited to welcome the Via Financial Group team to our growing, global Gallagher family of professionals."
Via Financial Group is a financial advisory that offers a range of services including insurances, superannuation and retirement planning, investment and financing.
Co-founders Matthew Read and Daniel Burden have joined other Via Financial team leaders Peter Kirby, Ben Davis, Robert Wilson and Sam Haydon in transitioning across to the Gallagher group.
They will work under Graham Campbell, who is head of Gallagher's employee benefits and HR consulting operations in Australia.
Financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
Read and Burden have extensive experience in the financial services sector prior to the merging of their respective businesses to create Via Financial Group.
Read previously owned Monet Financial Solutions, an advisory for high-net worth investors which he founded in 2003, while the Byron Bay-based Burden’s ties with Life Risk Management, an insurance business, stretch back to 2004.
Following the acquisition by Gallagher, the company founders join a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm that operates in 130 countries through its owned businesses and through a network of brokers and consultants.
According to Grant Thornton’s Dealtracker report for 2023 that analysed Australian mergers and acquisition and equity markets over an 18-month period, Gallagher accounted for the highest number of deals at 11.
While Gallagher was not listed as the highest by value, the deals highlight the group’s acquisitive nature and its interest in the Australian market.
The acquisitions, made through its New York-listed entity and Australian subsidiary, largely comprised businesses in the insurance sector.
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