By Colin Kellaher
Federal regulators are taking a closer look at Arthur J. Gallagher's planned $13.45 billion acquisition of insurance broker AssuredPartners.
Gallagher on Friday said the Federal Trade Commission has requested additional information as the antitrust enforcer reviews the deal.
The so-called second request by the FTC signals that the agency is reviewing whether the transaction could be anticompetitive under U.S. law.
Gallagher, which in December agreed to buy AssuredPartners from private-equity firms GTCR and Apax Partners, said it is actively responding to FTC request, and that it now expects to complete the acquisition in the second half of the year.
The Rolling Meadows, Ill., insurance brokerage, risk-management and consulting-services had previously said it expected to close the deal by the end of March.
The FTC become more active under the Biden administration in moving against large mergers, but Andrew Ferguson. the agency's new chairman appointed by President Trump, is widely expected to go easier on deals.
The FTC on Thursday sued to block the $627 million takeover of medical-device company Surmodics by GTCR, claiming the deal would create a company that controls more than half of the market for outsourced hydrophilic coatings, which are used in medical devices such as catheters and guidewires.
Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 07, 2025 09:30 ET (14:30 GMT)
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