“Addressing issues well in advance of a possible transaction pays dividends, simplifying the process and thereby reducing the transaction risk.”

The management shareholders acquired the company seven years prior to the transaction and addressed the material issue of its defined benefit pension scheme and related deficit, creating a new complication by having the Pension Protection Fund as a shareholder and party to the transaction.

With the acquirer being a major competitor, IMAS successfully managed the process to generate competitive tension and identified that the acquisition of GAB Robins would enable Crawford to significantly expand its claims handling business across a wide range of product lines in the UK and bolster its global specialty lines claims services.