Aon has unloaded four of its insurance underwriting businesses to Australian private equity manager, Ironbridge Capital.

In the deal announced yesterday, Ironbridge, through one of its investee companies Dexta Corporation, has made a conditional agreement to buy the four Aon underwriting agencies: Agricola Underwriting Management; Macquarie Underwriting; Pacific Underwriting and SLE Worldwide Australia. The purchase is expected to be signed off by the end of this month and will create a combined group with annual premiums close to $200 million, Ironbridge said in a statement. Greg Ruddock, Ironbridge managing partner, said the deal would enable Dexta to grow and diversify its markets. Dexta is a general insurance underwriting business which focuses in several specialist areas including professional indemnity cover for financial planners.