Brown & Brown, Inc. Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Assets of Pacific Resources Benefits Advisors, LLC

DAYTONA BEACH, FL and TAMPA, FL--(Marketwired - April 24, 2014) - J. Scott Penny, Chief Acquisitions Officer of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE: BRO), and Paul Barden and Paul Rogers, the controlling members of Pacific Resources Benefits Advisors, LLC ("PacRes"), today announced that a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, Inc. has entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire substantially all of the operating assets of PacRes. The transaction is expected to close in May 2014, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

Over the past 30 years, PacRes has become a leading independent employee benefits advisory firm working with Fortune-ranked and other large companies. PacRes had total annual net revenues for 2013 of $22.7 million. The PacRes assets will continue to be operated out of the existing headquarters of PacRes located in Chicago, Illinois, under the leadership of Paul Barden and Paul Rogers, who will report to Mike Crowe, Senior Vice President, B&B Services & Acquisitions. 

Powell Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Brown & Brown, stated, "Paul and Paul have done an outstanding job in building Pacific Resources into an independent trusted advisor and partner for its clients. Pacific Resources shares the Brown & Brown sales culture, which is a combination of unparalleled client service and subject matter expertise, and works closely with its carrier partners to provide optimal solutions for its clients. We are excited that the Pacific Resources team will be our new teammates at Brown & Brown." 

Paul Barden stated, "We knew that if we really wanted to achieve all of the goals we have set for the company, we were going to need more resources. But we also knew we had to find the right fit. Brown & Brown's outstanding track record of acquiring and investing in growing companies, while preserving autonomy, was the single-most important factor in our decision to join with Brown & Brown."

Paul Rogers said, "Having the resources of Brown & Brown behind us will allow us to further accelerate the growth of our core advisory services to meet increasing demand for innovative, evidence-based solutions to Life, Disability, Voluntary, Executive, Dental, Global and other non-medical benefits needs, and to develop new service offerings in response to changes created by healthcare reform and other industry trends."