Political and credit risk insurance broker Texel has completed its acquisition of US-based Meridian Finance Group, after buying the remaining 50% of the company’s shares.

The move comes nearly three years after Texel bought an initial 50% stake in Meridian, as it sought to expand its operations and establish its presence in the US market.

Texel is a privately-owned and independent Lloyd’s insurance broker with offices in London, Brussels, Singapore and the US, and its clients include large investment and commercial banks, commodity traders, and international corporates.

As part of the deal, the Meridian team will continue to operate under the leadership of its founder and president Gary Mendell from its headquarters in Los Angeles, and other offices in the US.

Going forward, Meridian’s specialty lines team in New York will begin to transact as Texel Americas, with Ben Roberts taking on the role of president.

Roberts has been serving as specialty lines manager for Meridian in the east coast city since April 2018, having previously worked as a broker at Texel in London for more than five years.

Speaking about the deal, Texel Group’s chairman, Andy Lennard says: “We’re delighted to welcome Meridian into the Texel family…. We’re extremely excited with this expansion and look forward to integrating Meridian into the Texel Group and growing our presence in the Americas.”

Since launching in 1993, Meridian has specialised in brokering trade credit insurance, as well as arranging export financing for cross-border transactions. Its clients are made up of companies of all sizes, financial institutions and investors.