Gerling Canada Acquisition Finalized

The acquisition of Gerling Canada Insurance Co. by a consortium of investors led by Torquest Partners Inc. has been completed. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Gerling primary operation will be renamed GCAN Insurance Co., a subsidiary of GCAN Holdings Inc., which was created by the investment consortium to facilitate ownership of the insurance company. The investors consist of Torquest Partners, Newport Partners Inc., CIBC Capital Partners and company senior management. The GCAN Holdings board will be controlled by Torquest Partners, a statement released by the investors say.

GCAN Insurance will maintain the Gerling operation’s focus on commercial and industrial business written through the company’s existing broker network. For the 2002 financial year, the Gerling primary company wrote $206 million in gross premiums. GCAN Insurance will continue to employ the 113 staff of the former Gerling company operating from Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. “Under our new ownership, management will continue in their current roles and there will be no change in the relationship with our existing network of brokers and their clients,” says Andy Henke, president of GCAN Insurance.