SEAN CARNEY is a partner in Sidley’s global Insurance and Financial Services group in Chicago. Sean’s practice focuses on a variety of corporate, securities and regulatory insurance matters, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, corporate reorganizations (including sponsored demutualizations and mutual and mutual holding company conversions) and venture capital/private equity investments.
He regularly represents insurance and financial services companies and other industry participants in connection with these and other matters, including acquisitions and divestitures of books of insurance business through reinsurance, renewal rights and other alternative transaction structures; public offerings, including initial public offerings, follow-on offerings, and private placements of debt and equity securities; and the regulation of insurance holding company systems and the structure and regulation of alternative risk financing mechanisms and complex reinsurance arrangements, including insurance securitization, loss portfolio transfers and commutations.
Sean was named a Business Insurance Break Out Award winner in 2017, and was also named a Rising Star by Euromoney Legal Media Group in 2017 and 2015.
Recent transactions on which Sean has advised include:
- Strategic transaction between Ohio National and Constellation Insurance Holdings involving Ohio National’s sponsored demutualization, providing for Constellation to fund cash payments or policy benefits in the amount of $500 million;
- Acquisition by the Farmers Exchanges jointly with Farmers Group, Inc. of MetLife’s property and casualty business, MetLife Auto & Home, for $3.94 billion;
- Acquisition by Aflac of Zurich North America’s U.S. group benefits business;
- Sale by Athene Holding of $1.55 billion in common shares to Apollo Global Management;
- Acquisition by Synchrony Financial of Pets Best, a pet health insurance industry pioneer;
- Acquisition by Western & Southern Financial Group of Gerber Life Insurance Company from Nestlé S.A. for $1.55 billion;
- Acquisition by Apollo Global Management of publicly traded Aspen Insurance Holdings for $2.6 billion;
- Acquisition by Arthur J. Gallagher of Reassurance Holdings, including Coverdell & Co. and Carefree Marketing;
- Acquisition by Arthur J. Gallagher of managing general agency, broker and claims administrator Pronto Insurance from Palladium Equity Partners;
- Sale by United Fire of its life insurance company, United Fire Life Insurance, to Kuvare;
- Formation and €2.1 billion initial capitalization of Athora Holding, a Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance group founded by Apollo Global Management and Athene Holding, which provides specialty solutions to the European insurance market;
- Acquisition of Great Western Insurance Company by the American Enterprise Group;
- Sale by Aon of its human resources outsourcing business to Blackstone for $4.8 billion; and
- $1.24 billion initial public offering by Athene Holding.