Dell Family Office Co-Leads $7.7 Billion Take-Private of Baldwin Insurance Broker

DFO Management, the family office of Michael Dell, partnered with Sequence Holdings to acquire the publicly traded brokerage at $32.50 per share in cash.

By the Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk·Sunday, September 20, 2026·2 min read

Editorial summary of reporting byget-vest.com Our editorial standards →

The answer · checked against get-vest.com

What were the terms of DFO Management and Sequence Holdings taking The Baldwin Group private?

DFO Management, the family office of Michael Dell, co-led a $7.7 billion enterprise-value take-private of insurance broker The Baldwin Group alongside Sequence Holdings, at $32.50 per share in cash, announced September 14, 2026. The deal was the third-largest disclosed transaction in the September 5–17, 2026 US M&A period tracked by Vest, which logged 39 verified deals totaling more than $44 billion in disclosed value.

Key facts

Sequence Holdings and DFO Management, Michael Dell's family office, agreed to take The Baldwin Group private at $32.50 per share in cash, according to Davis Polk.
The Baldwin Group take-private carried a $7.7 billion enterprise value, according to the Vest deal digest for September 5–17, 2026.
The deal was announced September 14, 2026, according to the Vest M&A Deal Digest.
Latham & Watkins served as buy-side counsel for Sequence Holdings, while Sullivan & Cromwell represented DFO Management, and Davis Polk represented the sell side, according to Vest.
Troutman Pepper Locke served as Baldwin's insurance-regulatory counsel in the transaction, according to Davis Polk.
Vest tracked 39 verified US M&A deals with more than $44 billion in disclosed value during September 5–17, 2026, with Kirkland & Ellis appearing on 7 deals to lead the counsel scoreboard.

Dell Family Office Co-Leads $7.7 Billion Take-Private of Baldwin Insurance Broker — Image: editorial illustration · Story sourced from get-vest.com

DFO Management, the family office of Michael Dell, agreed to take insurance broker The Baldwin Group private at $32.50 per share in cash alongside co-sponsor Sequence Holdings. The transaction values the company at $7.7 billion on an enterprise basis. Latham & Watkins advised Sequence Holdings, Sullivan & Cromwell advised DFO Management, and Davis Polk represented Baldwin. Troutman Pepper Locke served as Baldwin's insurance-regulatory counsel. The deal was announced September 14, 2026.

The Baldwin transaction was the third-largest US M&A deal announced in the two-week period ending September 17, 2026, according to data from Vest, a deal-tracking service. GE Aerospace's $11.75 billion acquisition of aerospace-castings maker Consolidated Precision Products topped the period. GE financed the purchase with $7 billion of cash on hand plus new debt. Paul, Weiss advised GE, and Cleary Gottlieb represented Consolidated Precision Products.

The second-largest deal was an $8.1 billion all-stock combination of multifamily REITs Independence Realty Trust and Centerspace, announced September 9. Troutman Pepper Locke represented Independence Realty Trust, and Wachtell Lipton advised Centerspace.

Across the 39 verified US M&A deals tracked by Vest in the period, disclosed transaction value exceeded $44 billion. Kirkland & Ellis led the counsel scoreboard with seven deal appearances. The firm advised Cerberus, Accel-KKR, Blackstone, Apax Funds, Altas, L Catterton, VIP and Vyne Medical. Latham & Watkins appeared on five deals, and Wachtell Lipton on four. On 23 of the 39 deals, at least one side's legal counsel was not publicly named.

Cerberus agreed to sell net-lease real estate platform Tenet Equity to CBRE Investment Management for $1.6 billion. Kirkland & Ellis represented Cerberus in the transaction. The buyer's counsel was not disclosed.

Co-GP structures that pair patient family-office capital with sponsor operational expertise often survive the rough years better than passive LP commitments, family office advisor Jaf Glazer has observed.

Fintech company Chime agreed to acquire its long-time partner bank Stride Bank for $590 million, becoming a bank holding company in the process. Wachtell Lipton advised Chime, and McAfee & Taft represented Stride Bank. The deal was announced September 8.

Italian software company Bending Spoons agreed to acquire collaboration platform Miro at a $1.355 billion enterprise value, about $1.79 billion including Miro's net cash. The price represents a roughly 90 percent decline from Miro's 2022 peak valuation. Latham & Watkins advised Bending Spoons, and Goodwin represented Miro.

The Deployment Angle

Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk · our analysis, not the source's

The Baldwin structure — a family office writing a multi-billion-dollar equity cheque as co-general partner alongside an institutional sponsor — maps the architecture family offices should underwrite when evaluating sponsor-led take-privates. The question is whether the family office is providing capital on institutional terms or accepting principal risk with board governance in exchange for lower fees and carried economics. If the source discloses no deal terms beyond price, assume the former until diligence proves otherwise.

At $7.7 billion enterprise value and an all-cash purchase price of $32.50 per share, the equity requirement likely sits between $3 billion and $4 billion depending on leverage. A 50-50 split between DFO and Sequence implies each principal writing a $1.5 billion to $2 billion cheque. That scale argues for direct co-GP participation rather than a programmatic commitment or a separate-account sleeve. Family offices with $5 billion or more in liquid assets can model a similar route in sectors where rollup dynamics and fee-based revenue offer downside protection.

Insurance brokerage is a recurring-revenue business with limited technology disruption risk and structural tailwinds from consolidation. The sector has drawn repeat family-office capital because cash flow is visible, customer concentration is low, and exit multiples have held through rate cycles. Underwrite Baldwin-style opportunities by stress-testing commission revenue against hard-market normalisation and by pricing in the cost of platform integration if the target has made prior acquisitions.

Avoid deals where the family office is named but counsel disclosure suggests a passive role. In the Baldwin transaction, Sullivan & Cromwell advised DFO and Latham advised Sequence — separate top-tier representation signals each sponsor negotiated its own economic terms. Deals where a single law firm represents multiple sponsors or where the family office has no named counsel often indicate LP-style capital with GP economics reserved for the lead sponsor.

Questions this story answers

01What price did DFO Management and Sequence Holdings pay to take The Baldwin Group private?

Sequence Holdings and DFO Management, Michael Dell's family office, agreed to acquire The Baldwin Group at $32.50 per share in cash, representing a $7.7 billion enterprise value, according to Davis Polk. The deal was announced September 14, 2026.

02Who is DFO Management and what role did they play in the Baldwin Insurance deal?

DFO Management is Michael Dell's family office. DFO Management co-led the take-private of insurance broker The Baldwin Group alongside Sequence Holdings at $32.50 per share in cash and a $7.7 billion enterprise value, according to the Vest M&A Deal Digest for September 5–17, 2026. Sullivan & Cromwell served as DFO Management's legal counsel.

03Which law firms advised on the Baldwin Group take-private?

Latham & Watkins advised Sequence Holdings on the buy side, Sullivan & Cromwell advised DFO Management on the buy side, and Davis Polk advised the sell side, according to Vest. Troutman Pepper Locke served in a specialist insurance-regulatory counsel role for Baldwin.

04How did the Baldwin take-private rank among the largest deals in the September 2026 M&A period?

The Baldwin Group take-private at $7.7 billion enterprise value was the third-largest disclosed deal in the September 5–17, 2026 period tracked by Vest, behind GE Aerospace's $11.75 billion acquisition of Consolidated Precision Products and the $8.1 billion all-stock merger of Independence Realty Trust and Centerspace.

05What type of business is The Baldwin Group?

The Baldwin Group is described as an insurance broker in the Vest M&A Deal Digest for September 5–17, 2026. The deal category is listed as insurance brokerage, and Troutman Pepper Locke's specialist role as insurance-regulatory counsel reflects the regulated nature of the business.

Browse every question the desk has answered →

Original reporting

get-vest.com

Read the original at get-vest.com →

take-privateinsurance-brokeragefamily-office-sponsorco-gp-structuredell-family-office

Peer Network · By Invitation

The Thesis Exchange

Share an investment thesis in confidence. We pair you anonymously with up to two other family offices running adjacent strategies. Reviewed by Gallium's editorial team. No vendor pitch.