Liberty Mutual Insurance announced the acquisition of Mexican surety company Primero Fianzas from Grupo Valores Operativos Monterrey, a private investor group. The acquisition enables Liberty Mutual Surety, a business unit of Liberty Mutual’s Global Specialty strategic business unit, to expand its extensive international presence by entering Mexico’s $600 million surety market. The parties have not disclosed the financial terms of the agreement and the acquisition is subject to Mexican regulatory approval.
Headquartered in Mexico City, Primero Fianzas wrote over $33 million in gross written premium in 2012 primarily in the administrative and credit bond segments and operates through 11 offices writing surety business in all Mexican states. The company is the 4th largest surety writer in Mexico based on 2012 market share and ranks #1 in the Mexican credit surety segment.
“We believe Primero Fianzas provides an attractive platform for investing in and expanding our global surety and insurance capabilities in the growing Mexican market,” said Chris Peirce, President of Liberty Mutual Global Specialty. “Primero has strong market presence and a record of profitable growth. Its excellent agent and customer relationships complement Liberty Mutual Surety’s significant underwriting capacity and global expertise, and further solidify our leading North American surety presence.”
This acquisition in Mexico adds to Liberty Mutual Insurance’s current international presence in 28 countries spread across Latin America, Europe, and Asia through the company’s Global Specialty and International business units. Liberty Mutual Insurance is the largest property and casualty insurer in Venezuela, second largest property and casualty company in Colombia, and is among the top 10 property and casualty companies in Brazil and Chile.
