Cline Woods Agency Sells Business

Leawood, KS-based Cline Wood Agency has sold its business to Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., a Fortune 500 firm,  for an undisclosed amount.

Founded in 1984, the Cline Wood Agency has offices in Leawood, St. Louis, and Arlington, Texas, and generates about $15 million in annual sales. It has 73 employees, who will remain with the company.
"Joining (Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC) gives Cline Wood a unique opportunity to bring more resources to our clients throughout the country, including offering new lines of services such as employee benefits," Cline Wood CEO Carol Barnett said in a release. "We're excited to begin working with the great people across MMA in this endeavor while maintaining our culture, which has gotten us to where we are today."

Marsh & McLennan Cos. generated nearly $13 billion in brokerage revenue last year and was on the top of Business Insurance magazine's rankings of the world's largest insurance brokers. The company's agency has 27,000 employees working 130 countries.
"Cline Wood's leadership in transportation and agribusiness was very appealing to us as we continue building our expertise in a variety of industry segments," David Eslick, chairman and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Agency, said in the release. "The team, culture and leaders that John Cline, Mike Wood and Carol Barnett have assembled will be a great fit with the rest of MMA."
This isn't MMA's first acquisition on the Kansas City insurance scene. In 2010, the company acquired Overland Park-based Haake Cos.