Howden announced it has agreed to acquire Atlantic Global Risk, a New York-based transaction liability insurance broker, in a deal the company says will create a global transaction liability powerhouse by combining Howden’s international platform with Atlantic’s U.S. market position. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
Atlantic Group, founded in 2017 and headquartered in New York, has expanded into what Howden described as a top-five broker in the North American transaction liability market. The firm provides transaction liability solutions across four areas: representations and warranties insurance, tax liability insurance, contingent risk insurance, and credit risk insurance. Atlantic employs more than 110 people and serves clients across the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.
Howden positioned the acquisition as a key step in the buildout of its rapidly expanding U.S. retail broking platform, noting that it has added hundreds of industry professionals since August across multiple practice areas and cities. By bringing Atlantic’s transaction liability team into the organization, Howden said it will strengthen its U.S. expansion while also enhancing its global capabilities for private equity firms and other dealmakers that increasingly rely on specialized insurance solutions to facilitate M&A.
The combination is also intended to broaden client access to a unified transactional liability team spanning the U.S. and international markets. Howden said it is the largest transaction liability insurance broker outside the U.S., and that pairing its international reach with Atlantic’s U.S. expertise will create a new global leader in the category and a more comprehensive solution for complex deal-related risks.
Howden emphasized alignment between the two organizations, highlighting the entrepreneurial, client-first orientation of Atlantic’s team and the expectation that Atlantic’s founders and most employees will become Howden shareholders. Howden Founder and CEO David Howden said the founders—identified as Richard, Joe, and David—are expected to play a central role in driving Howden’s U.S. retail broking growth and global transaction liability strategy, with the equity participation underscoring what the company characterized as strong cultural and strategic alignment.
KEY QUOTES:
“Howden’s growth has been driven by attracting the industry’s most talented and entrepreneurial people and then empowering them to deliver exceptional expertise and service to clients. The addition of Atlantic Group is another powerful example of this talent-focused approach. In just a few years, Atlantic has established itself as one of the top five brokers in its field with a fantastic reputation. The team shares our DNA and passion for clients and the founders – Richard, Joe and David – have chosen to reinvest a substantial portion of their equity, joining us on our journey to build a company like no other.
“By combining our international transactional liability leadership with Atlantic Group’s deep US expertise, we are creating a global powerhouse which will open up huge opportunities to support the world’s leading private equity houses and their portfolio companies. This is a cornerstone acquisition for Howden in the US, which allows us to deliver even greater expertise and excellent service to our clients.”
David Howden, Founder and CEO, Howden
“This is a transformative partnership for a few primary reasons. First, unmatched talent and expertise. Large-scale M&A doesn’t happen without transactional liability insurance, and the Atlantic team understands that space at a level that others do not. Second, breadth, depth, and access. We’re uniting the largest transactional liability broker outside the US with the preeminent transactional liability team in the global epicenter of M&A and private equity. Third, cultural alignment. Atlantic’s ambitious, client-first culture is a perfect match for us. They thrive in competitive, complex transaction environments, building coverage around clients, not products. That’s how we work at Howden. I am thrilled to welcome David, Joe, Richard, and everyone at Atlantic to Howden and our growing, dynamic team in the United States.”
Mike Parrish, CEO, Howden in the US
“This is an exciting next step in our journey, and we’re delighted to be rejoining the platform that launched our careers in this space. This agreement unites two organizations that are entirely client-centric and who pride themselves on being thoughtful, like no other, and with collaborative approaches that ensure clients get best-in-class expertise and solutions. By combining our transaction liability practice with Howden’s existing capabilities, global reach and resources, our clients will now benefit from a broader product offering, access to many more like-minded experts and the ability to be serviced across more geographies than I am capable of naming. We look forward to putting the power of this collective to the test to see what we can bring to clients and the insurance market in the future.”
David Haigh, Founding Partner, Atlantic Group
