Steadfast Shares Soar as Australian Insurance Broker Gets Offer

Australian insurance broker Steadfast Group Ltd received an indicative offer from US specialty insurance distributor Amwins Group Inc., and private equity firm Dragoneer Investment Group LLC, that sent its shares surging by a record 36%.

The conditional, non-binding cash offer of A$6 per share ($4.21) announced Wednesday is a nearly 52% premium to the stock’s Tuesday closing price, giving the company an enterprise value of about A$7.7 billion, including debt, according to Sydney-based Steadfast. The move follows two lower offers from the consortium for the company, Steadfast said.

Dragoneer intends to take ownership of Steadfast’s retail brokerage business, ...