First Niagara Risk Management Inc., the insurance agency division of First Niagara Financial Group Inc., a Lockport, N.Y., banking company, announced Wednesday that it had agreed to buy Hatch Leonard Naples Inc., the largest agency in Rochester, N.Y.
First Niagara Risk would have more than $40 million of annual revenue and nearly 300 employees once the deal closes. First Niagara Financial also is the parent of First Niagara Bank.
The banking company said it will pay a combination of cash and stock for Hatch Leonard but did not disclose the price. It said it expects to issue 435,000 shares in connection with the deal, valuing the stock portion of the payment at about $6.2 million. The deal is scheduled to close July 31.
Gerald Wenzke, the chief executive officer of Hatch Leonard, is to lead the post-merger agency operation, and John Hoffman, First Niagara Risk's chief executive officer, is to be the unit's chairman.
First Niagara Risk entered the Albany, N.Y., market in January when its parent bought Hudson River Bank and Trust Co., including the Bostwick Group subsidiary, one of the area's largest agencies. In April, it added Brooks-Byer Associates Inc., a boutique agency in Albany.
