FNB Corp. has agreed to buy the Atlamura, Marsh & Associates insurance agency of Clearwater and Fort Myers, Fla., a third Florida insurance agency deal in nine months for the Hermitage, Pa., financial institution, and more acquisitions are on the agenda.
"Our southernmost agency is in Naples, and the northernmost is in Clearwater, so we'd like to fill in the gaps in between," said Ray Bouchard, vice president of Roger Bouchard Insurance agency in Clearwater, which FNB bought last December. "We'd also consider more acquisitions here, in the Tampa area, if the price is right."
Altamura Marsh, which sells property and casualty, life, and commercial insurance, had $3 million of gross revenues in 1999.
The deal, which is expected to close this quarter, came less than two months after FNB bought Connell & Herrig Insurance of Sarasota. Connell had $2.3 million of revenues in 1999. FNB entered the insurance agency business in Florida with the Bouchard transaction. Roger Bouchard had $8.5 million of revenues in 1999.
Altamura is to retain its name and operate as a division of Roger Bouchard. Connell & Herrig has the same arrangement.
"They have a following, and we'll keep them running separately," Mr. Bouchard said of the Altamura purchase. "We'll share each other's carriers and some billing aspects of the business, but that's about it for now." Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
FNB, which has corporate offices in Hermitage and Naples, has $3.8 billion of assets. It also owns two insurance agencies in Pennsylvania and is scouting for more.
"They're looking for a well-rounded agency with a primary focus on commercial relationships" that gets involved in life and health insurance, said John Wepler, vice president of mergers and acquisitions at Concord, Ohio-based Marsh Berry, the bank's broker. "The hope is to find an agency in the east-central part of that state."
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