Hamilton Insurance Group announced it will acquire Liberty Mutual’s Pembroke Managing Agency at Lloyd’s and its Ironshore Europe DAC business – a move that will double its premium volume and size.

The cash transaction is the first M&A deal Hamilton forged under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Pina Albo, a former Munich Re executive who became CEO in early 2018. In an interview with Carrier Management, Albo framed the pending acquisition as “an incredibly transformative” one that accelerates Hamilton’s goal of becoming a global specialty insurance leader and also helps expands its reinsurance operations.

“This acquisition propels us very far along that curve,” Albo said.

[Related: Hamilton CEO Albo Credits Strategy, Excellent Timing as Leading to New Acquisition Deal]

Once the deal closes later in 2019, pending regulatory approval, it will almost double Hamilton’s total premium base to approximately $1 billion. Albo noted that Hamilton’s talent pool also doubles, with the company gaining a bigger Lloyd’s and non-Lloyd’s international presence along with two managing general agents. Bermuda-based Hamilton, which employs 155 people, gains 180 additional employees through its acquisition of Pembroke Managing Agency Limited, the Dublin-based Ironshore Europe DAC business and the Visionary MGA in Dubai, and employees with a U.S. MGA distributed between three hubs.

Neither side is disclosing financial terms.

Pembroke writes a portfolio of specialty products through Lloyd’s Syndicate 4000 and company paper, including: property, liability, political risks, marine and energy, accident and health, agriculture and select specialist lines. It is also a specialist provider of Lloyd’s managing agency services to third-party capital supported syndicates. Hamilton said the deal terms call for it to be responsible for the 2019 Year of Account for Syndicate 4000, but Liberty will retain the corporate member for prior years.

Liberty Mutual Insurance announced in October that it would pursue a strategic review of Pembroke and related operations – acquired as part of its Ironshore acquisition in May 2017. In the company’s own announcement of Pembroke/Ironshore Europe DAC’s planned sale to Hamilton, Liberty Mutual noted it will still serve the Lloyd’s market through its Syndicate 4472 and also serve the market through its other platforms.

Albo said that the acquisition works well for Hamilton, with very little duplication.

“The nice thing about this deal is our portfolios are complementary,” Albo said. “From an operation perspective, there is very little duplication.”

Both sides fit well in a complimentary way, Albo said, and she recapped the words of an unnamed rating agency with whom the deal was discussed that appeared to agree.

“We can’t stop ourselves from repeating the words of this rating agency – ‘this deal was designed for you,'” Albo recalled. “It’s the next piece of the puzzle that fits right in. That’s the feeling in this office today.”

TigerRisk Capital Markets & Advisory served as financial advisor and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal advisor to Hamilton.