Cross-border team advises Howden on acquisition of VLC & Partners

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised global insurance group Howden on its agreement to acquire VLC & Partners Holding B.V. (VLC), one of the largest independent insurance brokers in the Netherlands.

As well as enabling Howden to scale its existing operations in the strategically important Dutch market – one of Europe’s major insurance markets – the acquisition is a key milestone in the group’s 30-year journey to building the standout European insurance broker for clients by joining with deeply aligned, high quality businesses and talent.

Completion of this acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and works council consultation.

VLC is currently under the ownership of Dutch insurer De Goudse NV and management. It services mid-corporates, SMEs, and High Net Worth Individuals, and upon completion 500 employees will join Howden, adding seven branches to its existing operations in the Netherlands.  

The Amsterdam-led Norton Rose Fulbright team was led by the firm’s Head of Amsterdam and corporate Partner Saskia Blokland, along with Senior Associate Rogier de Haan and Associate Marit van den Elshout. The team also included Partners Wijnand Blom, Bart Le Blanc, Jurriaan Jansen, Floortje Nagelkerke, Alexandra Rogers (Brussels) and Matthew Foster (London); Senior Associates Annemarie VerLoren van Themaat-Creutzberg, Jasper Geerdes and Joep Duinker; Associates Leora Wit, Selma Jonker, Alwin Kroon, Julia van der Grint, Miaad Hamidy, Naomi Schuitema, Tilly Berkhout, Nivard Witte, Merel Kleinherenbrink, Iris Heins, Julien Haverals; Counsels Stefanie Walthaus; and Mai Muto (Brussels).

Saskia Blokland said:

"We are very pleased to have advised our client, Howden, on this significant acquisition, which greatly strengthens its regional offering and underscores Howden’s ongoing commitment to invest in local expertise and leverage its global capabilities for the benefit of its clients.

“This deal demonstrates the continued growth of our corporate practice, which has supported on the delivery of numerous substantial corporate and M&A deals across multiple sectors in recent years.”

Norton Rose Fulbright’s global corporate, M&A and securities practice advises corporations and financial institutions across the full spectrum of industry matters including public takeovers, private M&A, joint ventures, disposals, debt and equity capital markets, governance, general commercial and corporate advisory matters.