Miramar Group has acquired Arena Underwriting, an underwriting agency specialising in events and entertainment risks, in a deal announced in Sydney this morning.
The agency moves into Miramar's Specialty division, which writes niche and hard-to-place segments. Terms were not disclosed. In the release shared with IB, Miramar did not provide gross written premium, headcount, capacity arrangements, or detail on whether the Arena brand will be retained.
“We’re delighted to welcome Arena Underwriting to Miramar Group," said Miramar Group CEO Stephen Ward (pictured). "As we continue to grow, our focus remains on providing brokers with access to a broad range of specialist solutions, backed by the ease of working with one group.”
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Jason Thoroughgood, Miramar Group general manager – specialty, pointed to the fit with the division’s existing book. “Arena is well respected in the market, having provided solutions for the events and entertainment industries for almost 20 years. There is a natural synergy between this expertise and our existing sports and leisure offering, making the acquisition a natural next step in expanding our capabilities.”
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Miramar says Arena is the ninth underwriting agency to join the group since its formation. The group brought seven Steadfast underwriting agencies under a single brand from April 1 and in May folded Sports Underwriting Australia into the same Specialty division as Miramar Sports.
The timing could matter for brokers placing specialty business. Miramar is owned by Steadfast Group, which in August signed a binding agreement with Amwins, KKR and Dragoneer on a takeover under which Amwins Australasia would acquire Steadfast’s underwriting agency segment, with implementation targeted for December.
