Jeffrey S. Hochman

Willkie represented American Family Mutual Insurance Company, S.I., as a selling stockholder in the secondary offering of Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BOW), a growing specialty insurance business providing casualty, professional liability and healthcare liability insurance products. Bowhead Specialty recently announced the underwritten secondary public offering of 4,000,000 shares of its common stock by American Family and certain of its other stockholders at a price to the public of $29.00 per common share. In connection with the offering, which closed on October 25, the selling stockholders granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 600,000 shares of company’s common stock, which option was exercised in full. Willkie previously represented American Family Mutual Insurance, a shareholder and co-founder of Bowhead Specialty, in connection with the company’s initial public offering. The Willkie team was led by partners Jeffrey Hochman and David Luce and included associate M. Scott Greenberg.

Oct 29

1 min

On September 6, Marsh McLennan announced that it priced $600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 5.400% Senior Notes due 2033 and $1,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 5.700% Senior Notes due 2053. The closing of the notes offering is expected to occur on September 11, 2023, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions. Willkie represented BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as joint book-running managers for the 2033 Notes, and BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. as joint book-running managers for the 2053 Notes. With annual revenue of over $20 billion, Marsh McLennan is the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. The Willkie team was led by partner Jeffrey Hochman and included associates Arielle Padover and Robert Quinn and law clerk Jack Clarke. Counsel Martin Miller also advised on FINRA matters.

Sep 7

1 min

Willkie advised Grid Dynamics Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDYN), a leader in technology consulting, platform and product engineering, AI, and digital engagement services, on its approximately $114 million public offering of common stock. On November 12, Grid Dynamics announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock at $17.25 per share. The company will sell 6,612,500 shares, which reflects the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. The net proceeds of the offering, which closed on November 14, were approximately $107.5 million. The Willkie team was led by partners Matthew Berger and Jeffrey Hochman and included associates M. Scott Greenberg, Katelyn Merick, Sophia Gao and Joshua Gopaul.

Nov 14

1 min

Willkie advised iA Financial Corporation Inc., the holding company of iA Financial Group, a leading Canadian insurance and wealth management group, in its acquisition of Vericity, a leader in direct-to-consumer life insurance solutions. On October 3, iA Financial announced that it entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby its subsidiary iA American Holdings, Inc. will acquire Vericity for $170 million. Vericity, a publicly traded company majority-owned by J.C. Flowers & Co., comprises two entities servicing the middle-market life insurance space: Fidelity Life, an insurance carrier, and eFinancial, a direct-to-consumer digital agency. iA Financial Group is one of the largest insurance and wealth management groups in Canada, with operations in the United States. It has approximately $207.8 billion in assets and more than four million clients. The Willkie team was led by partners David Luce and Jeffrey Hochman and included associate Christian Truman.

Oct 6

1 min

On March 9, Marsh McLennan Companies, Inc. closed its offering of $600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 5.450% Senior Notes due 2053. Willkie represented the underwriters in the offering, led by HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. is the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. The Willkie team was led by partner Jeffrey Hochman, law clerk Evan Kenyon and associate Lana Makoviy.

Mar 9

1 min