The Baldwin Group has entered into a definitive agreement under which an entity to be formed by Sequence Holdings and DFO Management (Dell Family Office) will acquire a majority interest in the company in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $7.7bn.
Upon completion, Baldwin will become a privately held company. Eligible Baldwin colleagues will retain a significant minority equity stake, alongside Sequence, a permanent holding company that acquires established enterprises in the service economy, and DFO, the family investment office of Dell Technologies founder, chairman, and chief executive officer Michael Dell.
Baldwin shareholders will receive $32.50 in cash for each share of Baldwin common stock they hold, representing a premium of approximately 88% to the unaffected closing price on 17 June 2026, the day before media reports that the company was exploring a take-private transaction.
The transaction implies a total enterprise value of approximately $7.7bn, comprised of an equity purchase price of approximately $4.6bn and approximately $3.1bn of net debt assumed or refinanced in connection with the transaction. This represents an implied multiple of approximately 20 times Baldwin's trailing-twelve-month adjusted EBITDA of approximately $396m.
Eligible Baldwin colleagues who currently hold equity will have the opportunity to roll over a portion of their holdings into the private company, continuing Baldwin's long-standing commitment to broad-based colleague ownership.
The parent entity will effect the acquisition through a newly formed merger subsidiary, which will merge with and into Baldwin, with Baldwin surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary. The transaction is not subject to any financing condition. It was unanimously approved by Baldwin's board of directors, following the unanimous recommendation of a special committee comprised of independent, disinterested directors advised by independent legal and financial advisors.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to approval by Baldwin shareholders, the receipt of required regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions. Upon completion, shares of Baldwin common stock will no longer be listed on Nasdaq.
Trevor Baldwin, chief executive officer of The Baldwin Group, said the deal would accelerate the firm's investment in talent and technology.
"This transaction allows us to deliver immediate value to shareholders while establishing a partnership with Sequence and DFO that will give Baldwin the long-duration capital and frontier AI execution to invest and move at the pace this moment demands," said Baldwin. "Our vision and strategy are not changing. We remain committed to building the most diversified, vertically integrated insurance firm of the future, the destination for our industry's best professionals. What changes is the pace of our investments in talent and technology. Moving faster on AI sharpens what we deliver for clients and elevates the work our colleagues do every day. Foundationally important, our colleagues will remain owners of what we build together."
Michael J. Lee, chief executive officer and co-founder of Sequence Holdings, said the firm would help transform the business.
"Sequence brings leading engineering talent and patient capital to each of the businesses with which we partner in order to transform them into market leaders," said Lee. "With Baldwin, we look forward to working with the Company's team to rebuild workflows, products, and services around what is now possible with technology — extending Baldwin's lead as the insurance firm of the future."
Michael Dell said the structure of DFO's capital suited Baldwin's long-term ambitions.
"Baldwin has built something rare in insurance distribution: a genuine data and platform advantage, compounded over 15 years, led by a team with a clear and differentiated vision," said Dell. "DFO invests with the flexibility and patience of permanent capital, not as a fund working against a fixed exit clock. That structure enables DFO to back proven operators like Trevor and his team for the long term. I am excited that the DFO team is partnering with Sequence Holdings to support Baldwin's next chapter with patient capital and engineering and operational expertise."
