Steadfast agrees $5.51bn buyout by KKR-led consortium

Steadfast agrees $5.51bn buyout by KKR-led consortium

Shubhendu Vimal

Mon, August 24, 2026 at 5:37 PM GMT+3 2 min read

Australian insurance broker Steadfast has entered into a $5.51bn (A$7.7bn) buyout agreement with a consortium comprising Amwins Group, Dragoneer Investment Group and KKR.

The transaction, structured under a scheme implementation deed (SID), involves Amwins Australasia Group and Starboard BidCo, a vehicle connected to funds managed or advised by Dragoneer and KKR.

Steadfast entered into an exclusivity and process deed with Amwins and Dragoneer on 10 June 2026.

KKR subsequently joined the grouping in July, when the three parties put forward a non-binding, indicative proposal to acquire the broker.

Under the terms, BidCo will acquire all outstanding Steadfast shares for A$6 each in cash, subject to adjustment for any permitted dividends.

Following completion, BidCo intends to transfer Steadfast's underwriting agency division to Amwins while retaining the broking business itself.

The offer represents a 51.9% premium to Steadfast's closing price of A$3.95 on 9 June 2026, the last trading session before the company disclosed it had received a non-binding approach.

It also exceeds the one-month volume-weighted average price of A$4.03 by 48.9% and the three-month average of A$4.16 by 44.1%, placing the deal's enterprise value at approximately A$7.7bn.

Steadfast's board has unanimously endorsed the scheme, subject to no competing bid emerging and an independent expert concluding that the transaction is in shareholders' interests.

Directors have also pledged to vote their own shareholdings in favour on the same basis.

Completion remains subject to customary conditions including approvals from relevant authorities.

Funding for the deal will be sourced through equity commitments from Dragoneer and KKR, binding commitments from Amwins and external debt financing, with no financing condition attached to the agreement.

The SID includes standard exclusivity provisions, a matching right for any superior proposal and break fee terms.

Steadfast anticipates completing the transaction by December 2026, following the filing of a scheme booklet, court hearings scheduled for October and November, and a shareholder vote expected in mid-to-late November.

No action is required from shareholders at this stage, the group said.

Steadfast managing director and CEO Robert Kelly said: "With the backing of experienced international investors, we believe Steadfast can strengthen its competitive position, accelerate investment in technology and services, support our independent broker network and create further growth opportunities for the organisation."

"Steadfast agrees $5.51bn buyout by KKR-led consortium" was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand.