PIB Group has announced the expansion of its portfolio company Acquinex into the US, marking another step in the broking group's US growth strategy following its initial entry into the market in 2025 through the acquisition of specialist litigation MGA Litica.
Acquinex, a specialist managing general agent focused on SME and lower mid-market M&A insurance, has established a New York presence to serve the US representations and warranties (R&W) and tax liability insurance sectors.
The expansion is backed by two senior appointments: Chris Graham as head of representations and warranties insurance, joining after time at QBE and Great American, and Roktim Kaushik as head of US tax. The New York office already holds licences to operate across all US states.
Acquinex was founded in London in 2017 by Chris Thompson and Chris Jackson, and by 2021 had insured more than 700 M&A deals, roughly 300 of them that year alone, establishing itself as a market leader in SME-focused warranty and indemnity and tax liability insurance across Europe.
PIB acquired the business in March 2021 in what was, at the time, one of the first-ever acquisitions of a specialist MGA in Europe, giving Acquinex a platform to expand into other countries and product lines. The MGA has since grown into one of the most established transactional risk MGAs in Europe, with a team of more than 50 underwriters, including technical specialists, lawyers and tax experts, operating across the ten largest M&A markets and offices spanning London, Frankfurt, Warsaw and Copenhagen.
Acquinex's move into the US follows PIB's acquisition of Litica in March 2025, a litigation insurance MGA with its own existing presence in the US and Australia, which gave the group its first direct foothold in the American market. PIB itself received a fresh capital injection from Apax funds around the turn of 2025, with Acquinex's US expansion representing the group's first transaction to complete following that investment.
Ryan Brown, chief growth officer at PIB Group, said the announcement reflects the continued strength of the group's specialist businesses and its commitment to providing clients and partners with truly global solutions, describing the focus since PIB's founding as building a leading, diversified insurance distribution business.
Chris Jackson, chief executive of PIB Group's underwriting collective, said he has been part of the Acquinex journey from the start and is proud to see the business take this step with the full backing of PIB Group, pointing to clear US appetite for the specialised, service-led approach that has made Acquinex a leader in Europe.
Acquinex's expansion follows a familiar playbook for US market entry. Rather than building a domestic team from scratch, the MGA has recruited experienced R&W underwriters directly from established US carriers, giving it credibility and existing market relationships from day one rather than needing years to build them.
That approach mirrors how PIB itself entered the US via an acquisition rather than organic build-out, suggesting the group's broader US strategy favours importing proven expertise, whether through buying an existing US-based MGA outright or hiring underwriters who already have standing in the market, over slower, ground-up expansion.
