IMA Financial Group has wrapped up an equity recapitalization that hands minority stakes to Oak Hill Capital and New Mountain Capital, in a deal that keeps the US insurance brokerage majority-owned by its 3,000-plus employees and sets the stage for further expansion in specialty risk.
HarbourVest Partners and a group of institutional co-investors also took part in the transaction. SkyKnight Capital and The Stephens Group will exit through the deal, while New Mountain, an investor since 2020, sold its prior position and reinvested alongside the incoming group.
All IMA associates remain shareholders after the closing, preserving an ownership structure the firm has used as a recruiting and retention pitch in a fast-consolidating US brokerage market.
The Denver-based broker said the new capital will support investment in technology, talent and strategic partnerships, while protecting its independence and operating culture. IMA's business spans risk management, employee benefits and investment advisory services across North America.
Chairman and chief executive officer Rob Cohen said the transaction was designed around protecting that model.
"We accomplished every goal we set out to achieve: preserving majority employee ownership, maintaining our independence and strengthening our ability to build on what makes us successful — our talent, our vision and our people-first culture," he said.
Cohen added that the new investor base would help IMA keep scaling its platform, broaden its technical expertise and continue investing in the partnerships that have fueled its growth.
The recap caps a stretch of rapid expansion. IMA's revenue has climbed nearly 400% since 2020, supported by a mix of acquisitions and organic production, and its headcount has grown from 700 associates in regional offices to more than 3,000 nationally.
That expansion has also pushed the firm deeper into specialty risk. IMA recently structured a $4 billion property insurance program for an AI data center, with its data center practice spanning property, builders risk, cyber and technology liability, errors and omissions, D&O, crime and parametric business interruption.
The opportunity set is sizable, with IDC estimating that AI-centric infrastructure spend reached $90 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 alone and could exceed $900 billion cumulatively by 2029, giving brokers a long runway to build out related capacity.
Oak Hill managing partner Steve Puccinelli and partner Nico Theofanidis framed IMA's operating model as the core draw for investors.
"IMA has grown exponentially since its first recapitalization, but what drove investor interest is the success of its business model," they said in a joint statement.
The Oak Hill executives described IMA as a differentiated platform in insurance brokerage that has shown it can scale its culture without compromising client service.
New Mountain Capital managing directors Sean Donovan and Robert Mulcare said the decision to reinvest reflected the firm's experience as a shareholder since 2020.
"As an investor since 2020, we have seen firsthand what makes IMA different," they said in a joint statement.
They added that IMA was positioned to keep expanding its platform while maintaining its existing governance and ownership framework, prompting New Mountain to come back in alongside Oak Hill for the next chapter of the brokerage's growth.
