Baldwin Group’s $1B Merger with CAC Accelerates Specialty Insurance Brokerage Growth

The Baldwin Group has announced a significant $1 billion merger with CAC, marking a pivotal advancement in its strategy to become a top-10 global insurance broker within a decade.

This merger accelerates Baldwin's growth trajectory by enhancing specialty capabilities, expanding talent acquisition, and offering comprehensive client solutions. The combined firm aims to leverage CAC's expertise in complex sectors such as construction, energy, and large-account placements to complement Baldwin's strengths in reinsurance, managing general agencies (MGAs), and middle-market retail platforms.

Both Baldwin and CAC prioritize an entrepreneurial and client-centric culture, which played a crucial role in their alignment during merger discussions. CAC opted against minority private equity investment in favor of merging with Baldwin, which offers a colleague-owned model and access to public capital, facilitating greater autonomy and growth potential for brokers.

The integration strategy emphasizes the seamless sharing of expertise across the newly combined entity to deliver immediate client value. The plan includes cross-channel distribution linking CAC’s specialty groups with Baldwin’s reinsurance and MGA units and broadening the reach of CAC’s analytics capabilities. Leadership from CAC, including its CEO, Erin Lynch, joins Baldwin's executive team, embedding specialty knowledge into the firm's governance and strategic direction.

With a focus on building a unique, colleague- and client-centric insurance firm, Baldwin projects $2 billion in revenue by 2026, underpinned by its distinct capital structure that combines public market scale with a majority employee ownership ethos. This strategic move is designed to accelerate innovation and expansion in the specialty insurance brokerage market, providing competitive advantages in talent retention and service delivery.