Steadfast Group has entered into a binding scheme implementation deed for a consortium backed by KKR, Dragoneer Investment Group and Amwins Group to acquire the Australian insurance distribution company in a transaction carrying an enterprise value of approximately A$7.7 billion, or about $5.5 billion according to Insurance Journal.
Under the transaction, Steadfast shareholders will receive A$6 per share in cash, less any permitted dividends or distributions paid before implementation.
The A$6 offer represents a 51.9% premium to Steadfast’s A$3.95 closing share price on June 9, the final trading day before the company disclosed the consortium’s initial non-binding acquisition proposal.
The agreement follows several months of negotiations.
Amwins and Dragoneer initially approached Steadfast with proposals of A$5.50 and A$5.83 per share before increasing their offer to A$6 per share in June.
KKR subsequently joined the consortium as a co-lead investment partner alongside Dragoneer for Steadfast’s broking operations.
The transaction has been structured so that Steadfast’s major operating businesses will ultimately be divided between the consortium members.
Starboard BidCo, which is backed by Dragoneer and KKR, will acquire all outstanding Steadfast shares through the scheme of arrangement.
Following completion, Amwins Australasia will acquire Steadfast’s underwriting agency business, while the KKR and Dragoneer-backed bidder will retain the broking operations.
The structure gives Amwins a sizable underwriting agency platform while providing Dragoneer and KKR with ownership of Steadfast’s insurance broking business.
Steadfast operates one of the largest insurance distribution networks in Australia and surrounding markets.
The company currently has 414 network brokerages and 31 underwriting agencies, with businesses across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the U.S.
Brokers and agencies within Steadfast’s networks place approximately A$25 billion in gross written premium annually.
The company also provides technology, market access, risk solutions, operational support and equity solutions to insurance brokerage and agency businesses within its network.
Steadfast’s board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favor of the transaction, provided there is no superior proposal and an independent expert concludes that the scheme is in shareholders’ best interests.
The transaction remains subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.
Steadfast is targeting implementation of the acquisition in December 2026.
The agreement represents another major private capital transaction in the insurance distribution sector, where institutional investors have increasingly targeted brokerage and underwriting platforms with recurring revenue, fragmented markets and opportunities for acquisition-driven expansion.
For Steadfast, the transaction would also mark the culmination of a competitive acquisition process that began with the consortium’s initial approaches earlier this year.
At the agreed A$6 price, the buyers are paying a substantial premium to Steadfast’s unaffected public-market valuation while gaining control of two insurance distribution businesses that can be operated separately under their respective owners.
