Michael R. Halsband

Michael’s wide-ranging experience includes insurance broker and carrier M&A, new company formation, financings, capital raises, and new product development principally for InsurTech startups; complex structured reinsurance transactions; insurance-linked securities (ILS); distressed portfolio run-off administration; and general corporate insurance regulatory matters.

His broad industry knowledge comes from his experience as an executive and investment banker spearheading key business initiatives at Sirius Group, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Alea Group. Over the course of his career, Michael has built an innovative transactional practice and is valued by clients as much for his guidance on legal issues as his pragmatic and effective business acumen.

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Mergers and acquisitions

• Advised kWh Analytics, a US renewable energy managing general agent (MGA), in its sale to Beazley plc, the leading specialty insurer
• Advised Vouch Insurance Services, LLC in the sale of its specialist InsurTech business to Hiscox Group, the Bermuda-based and London Stock Exchange listed (LSE:HSX) global specialist insurer
• Advised MGG Investment Group, a direct lending investment firm, in connection with the signing of a definitive agreement for Conning & Company, Generali Investments’ wholly owned subsidiary, to acquire a majority stake in MGG for $320 million
• Advised Gram Asset Management, the private equity division of Grupo Romero Asset Management (GRAM), in connection with GRAM’s majority investment in the UniVista Insurance platform
• Represented Arden Insurance Services LLC, a tech-enabled managing general agent specializing in residential condominium association insurance, in securing a significant investment from FTV Capital
• Represented the largest group of non-founder equity owners of Atlantic Group, the leading independent US-based transaction liability insurance brokerage, in Atlantic Group’s sale to Howden, the global UK-based insurance broker
• Represented the shareholders of a specialty insurance MGA focused on the sports, leisure, and entertainment industries in the sale of their equity securities to a private equity firm’s portfolio company specializing in reinsurance and financial services
• Represented Waypoint Underwriting Management, LLC, a specialty reinsurance platform, in its sale to Equinox Management Group, Inc., an affiliate of One80 Intermediaries Inc.
• Represented Bain Capital Insurance Fund and Emerald Bay Risk Solutions in the formation of a new property & casualty hybrid carrier platform for long-term MGA partnerships
• Represented Champ Titles in its $18 million Series C funding, led by Point72 Ventures
• Represented Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company™, in all aspects of its launch of a Lloyd’s syndicate-in-a-box and a US-based MGA to offer and administer the first-of-its-kind carbon credit insurance policy
• Assisted a Florida-based investment fund with two significant investments involving life and annuity insurance and reinsurance partnerships
• Represented Ryze Claim Solutions, a full-service residential and commercial claims management business, in its recapitalization by Bain Capital Insurance
• Represented Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in its purchase of Eastern Insurance Group, LLC, a commercial property & casualty and personal lines subsidiary of Eastern Bank subject to customary regulatory approvals
• Represented Strategic Risk Solutions, the world’s largest independent insurance company manager, in its partnership with Integrum Holdings, an investment firm focused on partnering with technology-enabled services companies in the financial and business services sectors
• Represented Passerelle Partners, a boutique insurance advisory firm, in its acquisition by Simplicity Group Holdings, Inc. to build out its ultra-high-net-worth offerings
• Represented Transverse Insurance Group, LLC, a US-based hybrid fronting company, in its acquisition by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd., a member of the MS&AD Insurance Group
• Represented AP Intego in the sale of its business to Next Insurance, one of the leading InsurTechs transforming small business insurance
• Represented Embedded Insurance in the acquisition of automotive InsurTech Salty Dot’s renewal rights from CDK Global, Inc., a leading automotive retail technology company. Salty Dot’s Software-as-a-Service solution builds a customized insurance quote in real time during the car purchase process
• Represented a major American media company in the acquisition of an insurance agency, which has also developed a tech-enabled, integrated online platform to quote and/or bind insurance products, and in the formation of a new tech-enabled insurance production platform
• Represented a market-leading global specialty insurer and reinsurer focused on underwriting complex risks in the sales of its business and subsidiaries to a leading insurance services company subject to customary regulatory approvals
• Represented Assurant, Inc., a provider of specialized insurance products and related services, in the acquisition by its subsidiary, American Bankers Insurance Group, Inc., of American Lease Insurance Agency Corporation (ALI). ALI is a managing general agency that provides property and liability insurance products for commercial equipment and vehicles that are leased or financed
• Represented Capstone Insurance Services, LLC in the sale of substantially all of its assets to AleraGroup, Inc. and its parent, AleraGroup Ultimate Holdings, LLC
• Represented Brit Insurance Holdings, a global specialty insurer and reinsurer, in the sales of Scion Underwriting Services, Brit USA, Ambridge Europe with their subsidiaries to Amynta Group (subject to customary regulatory approvals), and in the sale of Commonwealth Insurance Company (subject to customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approvals)
• Represented USAA in its acquisition of InsurTech company Noblr, Inc., a usage-based insurance business. The deal remains subject to customary regulatory approvals
• Represented Team Focus Insurance Group, a property and casualty insurance firm with eight subsidiary businesses and almost 400 professionals, in its sale to PEAK6 InsurTech
• Represented Tarmika, Inc., a commercial lines rating solution for small business insurance, in its acquisition by Applied Systems, a global provider of cloud-based software that powers the business of insurance
• Represented M.J. Hall & Co., Inc. and M.J. Hall & Company of Alaska, Inc. in a sale of sellers’ business operations and assets to Acrisure MGA, LLC, a holding company of Acrisure Holdings, Inc.
• Represented Panorama Insurance Group, Inc. in its investment in Professional Insurance Associates, Inc.
• Represented DARAG Group Limited, a leading legacy acquirer, in its loss portfolio reinsurance transaction with Pacific Valley Insurance Company, Lyft Inc.’s captive insurance company
• Represented SiriusPoint, the international specialty insurer and reinsurer, in its investment in and partnership with Hestia Capital, a Texas-based specialty reinsurance intermediary and alternative asset advisory startup
• Represented Atlas General Holdings, LLC in the sale of its business to Risk Placement Services, Inc., a US-based subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
• Represented DARAG Group in the negotiation and consummation of a legacy run-off transaction with a major US retailer to provide finality to the retailer’s legacy workers compensation liabilities
• Represented GeoVera Holdings, Inc., a provider of specialty residential property insurance products, in the sale of its renewal rights for its Hawaii residential hurricane policies to Palomar Specialty Insurance Company
• Represented W. Brown & Associates Insurance Services in the sale of its business to Endurance Assurance Corporation, a US-based subsidiary of Sompo International
• Represented Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. (NYSE: TPRE) in its formation of, and investment in, Arcadian Risk Capital Ltd., a Bermuda-based insurance underwriter led by well-known industry veteran John Boylan
• Represented Equinox Management Group, Inc. in the sale of its stock to One80 Intermediaries, Inc.
• Represented Early, Cassidy & Schilling, LLC in its sale to AssuredPartners Inc.
• Advised Topa Equities Ltd. on the sale of Topa Insurance Group to Altamont Capital Partners (subject to customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approvals)*
• Advised Vanbridge, LLC on its acquisition by EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants*
• Advised Vanbridge Holdings on its sale of Alan Gray, LLC to Premia Holdings*
• Represented Rhino Labs, Inc. in its formation and Series Seed Preferred Stock initial capital raise of $1.5 million with a prominent venture capital firm*
• Represented Boost Insurance in its formation and various transactional and regulatory matters*
• Represented Coverys Group in its acquisition of Randall & Quilter Managing Agency Ltd., a fully authorized Lloyd’s managing agency based in London*
• Represented Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company in its renewal rights transaction with National General Holdings Corp. for its personal and commercial nonstandard vehicle in-force policies*
• Represented a Northeast regional insurance broker in its acquisition of a Philadelphia-based insurance broker and consulting firm*
• Advised Foundation Risk Partners in connection with its acquisition of Corporate Synergies, LLC*

Capital markets

• Represented Amwins Group, Inc., a leading global distributor of specialty insurance products and services, as US counsel on the launch of a joint venture expected to support approximately $400 million of premium
• Represented General Atlantic in its $179 million growth investment in Gravie, a health InsurTech that offers low-cost employer-sponsored health benefits packages
• Represented a private investment and direct lending firm in an investment in a reciprocal inter-insurance exchange, the proceeds of which will be contributed as regulatory capital
• Advised a private equity firm on the insurance transaction and regulation aspects of its unsuccessful bid for a leading private flood insurance MGA
• Represented a New-York based private equity firm as lead investor in the Series C financing and subsequent follow-on round for an InsurTech whose nationally available products integrate the procurement of homeowner’s insurance directly into the home-buying process
• Represented Pathpoint, Inc., a digital insurance wholesale brokerage service provider, in its capital raise with an early state venture capital firm
• Represented a national insurance program manager in its partnership with an international specialty insurer and reinsurer to add environmental insurance underwriting to its platform
• Advised a leading private equity firm on a potential investment in an employee benefits platform for small and mid-sized self-funded employers
• Served as underwriters counsel to MMC Securities on the surplus note offering of a mid-western mutual insurance company
• Served as underwriters counsel, Caelus Re V Limited, Series 2018-1 Principal at Risk Variable Rate Notes*
• Served as special counsel to cedant (California Earthquake Authority), Ursa Re Ltd., Series 2018-1*
• Served as underwriters counsel, Manatee Re II Ltd., Series 2018-1 Principal-at-Risk Variable Rate Notes*
• Served as underwriters counsel, Sanders Re Ltd., Series 2017-2 Class A Principal-at-Risk Variable Rate Notes*
• Served as special counsel to cedant (California Earthquake Authority), Ursa Re Ltd., Series 2017-2*
• Served as special counsel to cedant (Allianz Risk Transfer), Blue Halo Re Ltd., Series 2016-2*
• Served as special counsel to cedant (Allianz Risk Transfer), Blue Halo Re Ltd., Series 2016-1*
• Led close to 30 insurance risk linked securitizations (cat bonds, loans, and sidecars), securitizing nearly $7 billion of catastrophe exposed insurance risk*
• Introduced some of the ILS sector’s more innovative structures, including earliest primary insurance sidecar (Concord Re), first health insurance medical loss ratio securitization (Vitality Re), earliest use of a PCS county weighted index in a 144A note (Ibis Re), first fully levered sidecar cat loan (Emerson Re), and first cat risk securitization to provide cat protection for the benefit of CEA (Embarcadero I-III)*
• Led design and formation of reinsurer sponsored cat convergence ILS platform: Sirius Capital Markets (registered investment advisor), SCM High Yield Reinsurance Risk, Strategies Fund Ltd. (master-feeder hedge fund platform) and Alstead Re Ltd. (segregated cell transformer reinsurer)*
• Advised Swiss family office, PG3 AG, in its Series B investment in Nsure, Inc., a digital insurance producer that empowers people to buy home and auto insurance hassle free on their smartphones, tablets, or computers in minutes

*Matter handled prior to joining McDermott.

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