Steadfast Group has signed a binding agreement to be acquired by a consortium comprising Amwins, Dragoneer Investment Group and KKR at $6 per share, in a transaction valued at approximately $7.7 billion.
The deal follows more than two months of negotiations over Steadfast, which operates Australasia's largest general insurance broker network and group of underwriting agencies.
August 21, 2026 — Binding agreement signed
Steadfast confirmed acceptance of the consortium's binding $7.7 billion offer at $6.00 per share, following the conclusion of an exclusivity period that had been extended twice from an original deadline in early August.
August 17, 2026 — Exclusivity extended to August 21
Steadfast told the ASX the consortium had reconfirmed its proposal, with due diligence "in its final stages" and key terms of the draft Scheme Implementation Deed "substantially agreed." The exclusivity window was extended from August 19 to allow final documentation and approvals. Shares had climbed to $5.525 on the update, still below the $6.00 offer price, reflecting some market caution about deal certainty.
August 3, 2026 — Due diligence "substantially complete"
An earlier update confirmed due diligence was largely finished, extending exclusivity by two weeks to August 19. Steadfast cited "positive progress" made by the consortium over the prior eight weeks and said the parties remained committed to completing confirmatory checks and internal approvals.
Effective July 31, 2026 — Leadership change
Steadfast confirmed Tim Mathieson, CEO of Australasia Broking, would step down effective July 31, after 11 years with the group. Steadfast said his tenure included a significant contribution to the growth of its broking operations, including five years leading QIB Group through an expansion phase.
July 14, 2026 — KKR joins the consortium
KKR joined as co-lead investment partner alongside Dragoneer in Steadfast's retail brokerage business. Amwins and Dragoneer confirmed KKR's entry would not affect the transaction timetable and was not a condition for signing a binding deed. Steadfast said it received KKR's joinder to its confidentiality deed on July 8.
June 10, 2026 — Proposal tabled, board backs it in principle
Steadfast entered into an exclusivity and process deed with Amwins and Dragoneer, granting the consortium 8 weeks to conduct due diligence. The $6.00 offer represented a 51.9% premium to Steadfast's undisturbed closing price of $3.95, and was the highest of three proposals after earlier bids of $5.50 and $5.83 were rejected. Based on approximately 1.1 billion fully diluted shares, the $6.00 offer implied an equity value of about $6.7 billion. Including A$733 million of net debt and $253 million in non-controlling interests as of Dec. 31, 2025, the transaction implied an enterprise value of approximately $7.7 billion.
Under the proposed structure, Dragoneer was slated to take Steadfast's retail brokerage arm, while Amwins would acquire its underwriting agency business. The proposed transaction was subject to approvals from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office. Steadfast's broker and agency networks place around $25 billion in gross written premium annually across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the US. The group also has a presence in the UK following its acquisition of H.W. Wood. J.P. Morgan and Citigroup are acting as joint financial advisers to Steadfast, while Mallesons is serving as legal adviser. Insight Capital Advisors was appointed as independent adviser.
The approach came during a period of leadership transition. Longtime CEO and managing director Robert Kelly, who has led Steadfast for about three decades, announced his intention to retire from the role in February 2026. He had temporarily stepped aside in October 2025 while an external investigation into a workplace complaint was conducted. The investigation later concluded on a confidential basis.
