Proventis advised GBH-Group

Hamburg, 11 July 2023 – With the acquisition of the GBH Group by the GGW Group, the three major Hamburg-based industrial insurance brokers Gayen & Berns Homann (GBH), Burmester, Duncker & Joly (BDJ) and Gossler Gobert & Wolters (GGW) are merging under the umbrella of the GGW Group.

The Transaction

The traditional insurance brokerage company GBH Group, based in Hamburg, becomes part of the GGW Group. Both parties see this as an excellent basis for further joint growth in a changing market environment in order to become the leading medium-sized insurance broker in Germany.

“The merger with the two traditional companies GGW and BDJ, which have been friends for decades, gives us the unique opportunity to join forces in the interest of our employees and customers and to benefit from the considerable synergy potential. At the same time, we will remain owner-managed and will not only maintain our culture, which has been successfully practiced for many years, as well as all our locations in the future, but also expand them in the future,” explains Malte Mengers, Managing Partner of the GBH Group, which includes other companies, such as the broker Gaedertz-Schneider from Tueschenbek near Lubeck, which specializes in agricultural risks.

“We are pleased and proud to have united what we consider to be the most successful and renowned industrial insurance brokers in Hamburg under one umbrella. This merger offers excellent prospects for our employees, customers and insurance partners. We will jointly go into the future being motivated and strengthened. Today is an important step for us to become the leading medium-sized insurance broker,” says Tobias Warweg, founder and CEO of the GGW Group.

The transaction is still subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

The role of Proventis Partners

Proventis Partners acted as an exclusive M&A advisor to the shareholders of the GBH Group in the preparation and implementation of the transaction. In addition to the complete documentation preparation, Proventis identified a selection of suitable investors and guided them through a sales process tailored to the GBH Group, coordinated the due diligence and accompanied the contract negotiations until the successful completion of the transaction. Proventis Partners’ transaction team consisted of Torben Gottschau (Partner), John Jürgens (Director) and Dr. Leonhard Austmann (Associate).

About the GBH Group

The history of the GBH Group goes back to the founding of an insurance company by Max Gayen in 1899 in Hamburg. The GBH Group employs over 230 people at 18 locations throughout Germany and is one of the leading insurance brokers for medium-sized industrial and commercial customers. Wolfgang Gaedertz & Co. – Friedrich Schneider GmbH, which is also part of the group, brokers insurance for customers in agriculture and forestry.

About the GGW Group

The GGW Group is an association of highly qualified and owner-managed insurance brokers, bundled under the umbrella brand LEADING BROKERS UNITED, and high-profile underwriting agents, bundled under the umbrella brand WECOYA UNDERWRITING. The independence and entrepreneurial freedom of the individual companies as well as the bundling of their expertise, which has grown over 265 years, are essential features of the GGW Group.

The GGW Group was founded at the beginning of 2020, has since gained more than 40 partner companies and now employs more than 1,600 people. Together, the group manages more than EUR 1.3 billion in insurance premiums and has become a leading player in the industry. The company’s registered office is in Hamburg.

About Proventis Partners

Proventis Partners is a partner-managed M&A consultancy whose clients primarily include medium-sized family businesses, group subsidiaries and private equity funds. With over 40 M&A advisors, Proventis Partners is one of the largest independent M&A consultancies in the German-speaking region and can look back on more than 20 years of M&A experience and over 300 completed transactions.

The M&A advisors, with offices in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich and Zurich, are active in six sectors: Chemicals & Materials, TMT, Consumer Goods, Food & Retail, Healthcare, Industry and Business Services. The exclusive membership in the Mergers Alliance – an international partnership of leading M&A specialists – enables Proventis Partners to support clients in 30 countries in the most important markets worldwide. The members of the Mergers Alliance with their more than 250 M&A professionals offer Proventis Partners and thus its clients unique access to local markets in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa.