Morneau Shepell sold benefits consulting business to H&F’s Hub for $70M

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By CPE News

CPE Media News (3/2/2020) – Morneau Shepell Inc. (TSX: MSI) has sold its benefits consulting business to Hub International, a portfolio company of Hellman & Friedman (H&F) and Altas Partners, for $70 million.

JP Girard, Morneau Shepell’s Health & Benefits Consulting Canadian Practice Leader has joined Hub as Executive Vice President, Benefits Consulting – National Accounts and is named to Hub’s Canadian Employee Benefits leadership team. He will remain located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Girard will report directly to Rob Keilty, CEO of Hub International Ontario.

Chicago based Hub is majority-owned by Hellman & Friedman which acquired Hub from Apax Partners for US $4.4 billion in 2013. Altas Partners acquired a minority stake in Hub in a deal valued at US $10 billion in 2018.

Hub is the largest P&C broker in Canada with more than 130,000 corporate clients. Since launching the initiative to expand its Canadian Employee Benefits solution in 2018, Hub has acquired 28 Canadian brokerages and has grown its Employee Benefits practice to more than 20 offices, over 400 staff and in excess of $100 million in revenue and $1.5 billion in premium.

HUB

News Release

Morneau Shepell sells benefits consulting business; focuses on core growth areas

Morneau Shepell sells benefits consulting business to HUB International, a global insurance broker; the Company remains focused on well-being, global growth and leveraging its technology platform

TORONTO, March 2, 2019 – Morneau Shepell Inc. (the “Company” or “Morneau Shepell”) (TSX:MSI) today announced it has exited the benefits consulting business. HUB International (HUB), a global insurance broker providing property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, and other products and services, has purchased the business for $70 million.

The exited business represents approximately three per cent of overall Morneau Shepell revenue and has margins slightly above the aggregate margins of the overall business.
“We are very focused on our growth strategy, which includes being clear market leaders in the businesses in which we operate, owning the total well-being space, accelerating growth through geographic expansion and leveraging technology to deliver a seamless experience for our clients and their employees,” said Stephen Liptrap, President and Chief Executive Officer.

“HUB is focused on the benefits consulting space, which makes it a perfect home for this business. The Benefits Consulting business is core for them, and in their hands has more potential upside and opportunity to grow,” continued Liptrap.

Morneau Shepell’s employees and clients for benefits consulting are moving to a respected leader in the employee benefits market. The talented team of employees will continue supporting these clients under the new owners. “We extend our thanks to our former colleagues for their past contributions, and wish them well at HUB,” Nigel Branker, President, Health and Productivity Solutions and Executive Vice President.

About Morneau Shepell Morneau Shepell is the leading provider of technology-enabled HR services that delivers an integrated approach to well-being through our cloud-based platform. Our focus is providing everything our clients need to support the mental, physical, social and financial well-being of their people. By improving lives, we improve business. Our approach spans services in employee and family assistance, health and wellness, recognition, pension and benefits administration, retirement consulting, actuarial and investment services. Morneau Shepell employs approximately 6,000 employees who work with some 24,000 client organizations that use our services in 162 countries. Morneau Shepell is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: MSI). For more information, visit morneaushepell.com.

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NEWS RELEASE

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For further information:
Heather MacDonald
Morneau Shepell media@morneaushepell.com 855-622-3327