Transactions

OneDigital Acquires HM Employee Benefits and Risk Management

OneDigital, the nation’s leading health, retirement/wealth, and HR advisory firm focused on empowering business growth for employers of all sizes, announced it has acquired HM Employee Benefits and Risk Management (HM), located in St. Louis, Missouri.

This acquisition is the first to integrate property and casualty (P&C) into OneDigital’s suite of health, retirement and wealth, and human resources consulting, a significant milestone in the company’s growth. The partnership represents a turning point for OneDigital as it enters the traditional multiline agency arena with a very untraditional economic value equation.

“OneDigital’s expansion into the P&C side of the business with the acquisition of HM will allow us to provide a holistic suite of employee-centric solutions for our customers and marks the starting point for the next iteration of OneDigital,” said Mike Sullivan, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer at OneDigital. “OneDigital has been a rarity in the business as one of the few employee benefits-only firms, but as we decided to expand our business, we needed a partner who was aligned in our people-first culture and was open to building the future of P&C together. Mike Shanahan and the team at HM had the leadership, depth and P&C acumen, along with the culture to fit into that ecosystem.”

“Through OneDigital’s two decades of operations, we have focused on the benefits business to provide employees with the most comprehensive solutions,” said Adam Bruckman, President and Chief Executive Officer at OneDigital. “By entering the property & casualty market with HM, we are strategically expanding our services to meet the needs of our customers and their employees. Putting people first is a crucial element of the OneDigital culture, and this expansion will allow us to further our relationships as we push into this new market.”

Founded in 1991 and a top 100 broker on the 2020 Hales Report, HM provides employee benefits and risk management services to clients in all 50 states and 60-plus countries. With the acquisition, 130 employees have joined the OneDigital team.

“I’m thrilled HM and our employees have joined the OneDigital family to bring a new element of service with P&C to such a well-respected player in the benefits market,” said Mike Shanahan, Chairman, President and CEO of HM. “This merger with OneDigital provides us the opportunity to enter on the ground floor with a seat at the table for a rapid build in the multiline agency space. It’s our intention to support downstream acquisition efforts as more P&C agencies become aware of this unique opportunity. OneDigital’s and HM’s alignment on a culture- and people-first approach to business will allow us to continue to drive success through relationships.”

The acquisition of HM brings an entirely new component to OneDigital’s offerings and services. OneDigital is reshaping the boundaries of its client-facing solution set differently than any other market participant across the country, empowering greater growth for businesses and people. The expectation is that many like-kind multiline firms will find a home at OneDigital in the years to come. Insurance M&A consulting firms Waller Helms and Dowling Hales advised OneDigital and HM in the transaction, respectively.