America's Benefit Specialist December 2022

RECENT MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

solutions at the workplace,” said Heather Lavallee, president and CEO-elect, Voya Financial Inc. Benefitfocus will operate as a distinct business under Voya’s ownership, with con tinuity in the existing Benefitfocus manage ment team and a reaffirmed commitment to Benefitfocus’ broker, advisor and carrier relationships. AMERILIFE TO ACQUIRE TRUCHOICE FINANCIAL GROUP AmeriLife Group LLC has entered into an agreement to acquire TruChoice Financial Group and its affiliate Inforce Solutions LLC from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. Headquartered in Minneapolis, TruChoice is one of the largest field market ing organizations in the financial services industry. The company partners with life and annuities agencies to provide them with marketing, business support and financial solutions in an ever-changing industry. In force, an affiliate of TruChoice, is a national brokerage general agency focused on the life insurance market. The addition of TruChoice provides significant opportunity for AmeriLife to expand its annuities production, as well as increase its reach in the fast-growing life insurance market and forge a closer rela tionship with Allianz Life. Under the AmeriLife umbrella, TruChoice and Inforce will gain access to resources, new products and solutions to expand opportunities for their more than 4,000 financial professionals. TruChoice will continue to maintain its strong relationship with Allianz Life as a non-affiliated FMO, as the latter moves to consolidate its focus around its core business of creating innova

synergistic and complementary offerings, we can now leverage those strengths to offer even more robust benefits for our partner firms, their distribution sources and insur ance company partners.” Insurance Designers of America will merge into the LIBRA brand, adding as many as 50 agency partnerships to the LI BRA Insurance Partners community. IDA’s team, distribution network, technology of ferings and extensive advisor resources will be available to all LIBRA-affiliated partners post-integration. Collins will continue in a leadership position as executive vice presi dent and chief relations officer, overseeing carrier partnerships and agency services. VOYA FINANCIAL TO ACQUIRE BENEFITFOCUS Voya Financial Inc. and Benefitfocus Inc. recently announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement for Voya to acquire Benefitfocus. Under the terms of the agreement, Voya will acquire all outstanding shares of Benefitfocus common stock for $10.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $570 million, inclusive of Benefitfocus debt consulting firms in the health and benefits industry and, through its employer and health plan customers, touches more than 25 million lives on its platform. Combined with its own existing workplace customers, Voya will serve approximately 38 million individuals, or roughly one in 10 Americans following completion of the acquisition. “Our acquisition of Benefitfocus is an exciting opportunity to accelerate our workplace-centered strategy and increase our capacity to meet the growing demand for comprehensive benefits and savings and outstanding preferred shares. Benefitfocus serves brokerage and

LTC GLOBAL ACQUIRES PITTSBURGH BROKERAGE SERVICES

LTC Global Inc. (Fort Myers, Florida) has acquired Pittsburgh Brokerage Services Inc., a Capitas Financial Inc. partner headquar tered in Pittsburgh. PBS Founder Thomas Hall will continue to manage the business. Pittsburgh Brokerage Services operates a life and health insurance brokerage that has served brokers and clients throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Eastern Ohio for over 35 years. LIBRA INSURANCE PARTNERS AND INSURANCE DESIGNERS OF AMERICA MERGE LIBRA Insurance Partners and Insurance Designers of America LLC have announced the merger of the two organizations. The combined company will operate under the LIBRA Insurance Partners (LIBRA) brand. Bill Shelow, CEO and president of LIBRA Insurance Partners, and J. Craig Collins, president and executive director of Insurance Designers of America, along with the respective Board of Directors and more than 110 combined affiliated partner agencies, have approved entering a merger agreement. The merger will take effect on January 1, 2023, upon completing the tran sition process. “We recognize that during a time of mass BGA transactions and industry-wide consol idations, only those with the ability to scale, innovate and evolve will remain relevant and thrive throughout consistently-changing market conditions,” said Shelow. “We’ve worked alongside LIBRA for many years. I have tremendous respect for the leadership team and its agency part ners,” said Collins. “Our firms are aligned in values and commitment, and with many

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