GAINESVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers (Liberty), one of America’s fastest-growing privately held insurance brokerages, announced the completion of its $340 million refinancing transaction on July 31, 2023. The offering was well received by the banking community and was oversubscribed.
This transaction, which is comprised of a $30 million revolving credit facility, a $180 million term loan and a $130 million delayed-draw term loan, refinances the company’s existing debt and positions the organization to capitalize on long-term growth opportunities. J.P. Morgan, Fifth Third Bank, and Royal Bank of Canada were the joint lead arrangers, with J.P. Morgan serving as administrative agent. Additionally, Bank of America, Citibank, TD Bank, and InsurBanc are also lenders in the facility.
Liberty’s CFO, Bernadetta Scholz, led the discussions on behalf of Liberty, along with Liberty’s Founder, Chairman and CEO, Bill Johnson.
Oversubscribed Deal Underscores Industry Confidence
The oversubscription to the offering reflects the confidence the financial community has in Liberty’s outstanding results and strategic vision for the future.
“Liberty’s offering was oversubscribed in today’s challenging credit environment and that is a strong demonstration of the market’s confidence in Liberty’s business, trajectory and the remarkable organic and inorganic growth that our organization has experienced over the past few years,” said Scholz.
Fueling Growth and Vision
In 2022, Liberty achieved a 47% organic growth rate in addition to completing 37 acquisitions. This combination fueled growth of its revenues from $54 million to $149 million during the year, while allowing its EBITDA to debt leverage to remain at a low 3.5x. This low debt leverage allows Liberty to keep its cost of capital at the lowest end of the spectrum, which is an important factor in the current interest rate environment as Liberty looks to continue to invest in and grow its business.
In addition to M&A activity, Liberty intends to use this capital to continue to build out its resources to drive more organic growth though its practice groups and industry specializations, MGA/Program offerings, employee benefit and human capital management resources, risk management services and other initiatives.
"We are grateful for the tremendous support extended by the banking community to our business," said Johnson. “I look forward to continuing to lead our exceptional team of colleagues as we drive Liberty’s growth into the future. Our success is built on the foundation of our unique culture, mission, and values along with our ever-growing resources, and collaborative and entrepreneurial environment.”
About The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers
The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers is among America's fastest-growing privately-held insurance brokerages. Liberty provides entrepreneurial producers and agency leaders a unique platform to serve clients and create equity in a strong and welcoming culture built upon its core values of Integrity, Excellence, Caring, Kindness, Fairness, Teamwork, Good Feelings, and Fun. To learn more about Liberty, visit www.libertycompany.com.
