Sunstar Insurance Group has acquired RJR Faribo Insurance Agency, marking the Memphis-based broker's first agency in Minnesota and extending its Reverence Capital-backed Midwest expansion into a new state. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal is a concrete example of how a partnership model operates in practice when a multi-generation, community-rooted firm enters a PE-backed platform for the first time.
RJR Faribo traces its origins to the 1930s, with the current company formed in 1986 when Rooke & Company, Tuthill-Johnson & Associates and Renslow & Associates merged into Rooke, Johnson & Renslow Insurance Agency. Under chief executive Mark Lancaster, the firm has operated for four decades serving Minnesota businesses and individuals across commercial and personal insurance lines from offices in Eden Prairie and Faribault. Its 22 employees will join Sunstar as part of the deal.
Lancaster said cultural fit was central to the decision to sell.
"Sunstar stood out because of its people-first culture, strong reputation and vision for growth," Lancaster said. He added that RJR Faribo is proud to become Sunstar's first agency in Minnesota.
Adam Meyerowitz, who became Sunstar's chief executive on May 4, 2026, succeeding founder Casey Bowlin - who has moved to executive chairman - said RJR Faribo's reputation and local roots made it a natural addition to the platform. "Mark and his team have built an outstanding business with a respected reputation and deep roots in the Minnesota market," Meyerowitz said.
Greg Lottes, president of Sunstar, said the agency adds to the organization beyond its geographic footprint. "Beyond being a great agency, they are the type of people who contribute to a collaborative culture and help make the entire organization stronger," Lottes said.
The RJR Faribo deal lands during a period of deliberate expansion at the platform level. Sunstar appointed Daniel Romero as its first chief acquisition officer in November 2025, a role created specifically to oversee sourcing, structuring and integrating new agency partnerships. Meyerowitz's appointment as CEO in May 2026 - following a nationwide search conducted with Bowlin's involvement - completed a leadership transition that paired a new operating executive with a dedicated acquisition function.
Sunstar currently operates 58 agencies across nine states, employs more than 930 professionals, and places more than $2 billion in annual premiums, according to the company's April 2026 announcement of the Meyerowitz appointment. Backed by Reverence Capital Partners, which acquired a majority stake in 2024, the brokerage has been expanding steadily beyond its Southeast base and into Midwest markets.
For independent agency owners in Minnesota and the broader Upper Midwest, the deal signals that Sunstar's acquisition program has moved into new geographic territory, with the dedicated chief acquisition officer role suggesting further transactions are likely. Owners evaluating a sale to a platform like Sunstar - which markets itself on preserving agency names, local branding and existing client relationships - now have a recent, verifiable example in RJR Faribo of how that model operates when a long-established agency joins a PE-backed platform for the first time. The retention of Lancaster and his team, and the framing of the transaction in both the Meyerowitz and Lottes quotes as a cultural partnership rather than a revenue acquisition, are the signals owners will weigh against the terms of any future approach.
