Bridget Carter in 'The Australian's' Data Room writes on Thursday 15 December 2022:

Steadfast circles Perth-based rival

Steadfast chief executive Robert Kelly. Picture: Nikki Short

• By Bridget Carter

  DataRoom Editor
• 6:33PM December 14, 2022

The $5.6bn Australian-listed insurance broker network Steadfast is on the hunt for acquisitions, and one of the companies on its wish list is understood to be its Perth-based competitor EBM.

EBM is well run and is owned by its founders, which is right in Steadfast’s sweet spot.

While the company is not for sale, Steadfast is positioned to pounce should it come up on offer.

Established in Western Australia in 1975 by executive chairman Alan Bishop, EBM has since grown into an insurance broker with a network of offices throughout Australia.

Steadfast’s acquisition strategy is bullish, and the company is considering further expansion overseas.

While delivering its results for the full year to June, it announced a 29.3 per cent lift in net profit to $169m, while statutory net profit rose 20 per cent to $171.6m.

Its revenue growth was a result of insurance premium increases, organic customer growth across the network and a flurry of acquisitions.

In August, it purchased Insurance Brands Australia for $301m, one of the largest operators in the SME space.

Steadfast chief executive Robert Kelly said at the time that the company had faced stiff competition to acquire IBA, but the deal would bolster his company’s position as the largest general insurance broker network.

Another major deal has been its $411m buyout of Coverforce Group in August 2021 and last year the company also acquired a majority 60 per cent stake in UnisonSteadfast, a global network of independent insurance brokers based in Hamburg and Chicago.

Mr Kelly described the company as a “sleeping giant”, and said it would be used as a platform for further acquisitions of brokerage firms.

In August while delivering results, Steadfast identified a $400m pipeline of further acquisitions, with $220m expected to be completed this financial year.

Steadfast has a network of 427 brokers spread across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, and has been expanding its footprint since its listing nine years ago.