case studies | Buy-side regulatory political due diligence
Regulatory and political due diligence for the purchase of an insurance intermediary in the EU by a global PE major
Overview
There has been intense interest from private equity in EU insurance intermediaries. Our client’s Target, like many other intermediaries, generates revenue from inducements and commissions on sales of insurance products. The client was therefore concerned about the impact of the EU’s Retail Investment Strategy (2023), which threatened changes to the rules on inducements. Our client wanted to understand the likely landing zone for these proposals given that there was a gap between the EU Commission and member states.
Work
Our insurance and financial services team, who have worked for regulators and governments on relevant policy, worked in tandem with our Global Investor Services practice, who have completed several advisory mandates on insurance policy. We consulted regulators and industry bodies in Brussels and relevant EU capitals to assess the likelihood of pushback from stakeholders (e.g. member states and industry) and determine the likely landing zone. We were able to explain how the proposals would apply to the Target’s precise business activities.
Impact
The client used our report to assess the risk to the Target’s business in advance of putting the deal to its Investment Committee. It used our report to inform questions for the Target’s management team to understand its mitigations. This enabled it to make an appropriate bid for the Target.