By Ben Tinsley
bent@tjpnews.com

Follow @bentinsley

DALLAS — IMA Financial Group Inc., of Wichita, Kansas, recently acquire
d Dallas-based insurance brokerage Waldman Bros.
The transaction has created a powerful new subsidiary, officials confirmed this week.

The two effectively merged to create “IMA | Waldman Texas,” a roughly 70-employee subsidiary that will continue to operate out of Waldman’s offices, at 6200 LBJ Freeway in Dallas.
The subsidiary combines the history and business footprint of Waldman Bros with IMA’s resources and 120 years of combined experience. Officials confirmed the creation of the subsidiary earlier this month.
“I’ve jokingly said ‘IMA | Waldman is Waldman Bros on steroids,” said Steve Waldman, the former Waldman Bros CEO who is now president of IMA | Waldman Texas.
The prospect of merging the 77-year-old brand of Waldman Bros with IMA’s national resources and industry expertise was hard to resist, Steve Waldman explained.
“IMA had an office in Dallas — but it was not the office size or footprint it wanted,” Steve Waldman said. “We’ve been here since 1939 and did have that footprint.”
Waldman Bros officials say they are happy with the acquisition because the ultimate goal was to find and partner with a company in a family-friendly culture similar to their own, Steve Waldman said.

“We hit the jackpot,” he said.
Acquiring Waldman Bros, which offered commercial insurance solutions, employee benefits and high-net-worth private client insurance expertise, was an important gain for the IMA Financial Group — which is the ninth largest independent insurance broker in the country, officials said.
The result? IMA | Waldman is positioned to provide medium-to-large companies with a national network of expertise in strategic employee benefits, Total Rewards solutions, comprehensive property and casualty products and carrier relationships.
“This will be one of the larger privately held firms in the DFW marketplace,” said Michael Waldman, who has become executive vice president of the IMA | Waldman Texas Employee Benefits division.
Also a result of the transaction, IMA’s Rob Broz is IMA | Waldman president Dallas-Fort Worth. Todd Chanon is executive vice president of IMA | Waldman and chief operating officer of Signature Select LLC Texas (an IMA | Waldman company) to oversee small-business lines and high-net-worth clients.
Rob Broz said the family-friendly culture and service lines of IMA | Waldman offer a unique opportunity to serve clients.

“What is so great about this merger is IMA and Waldman are very aligned culturally with employee ownership and rich resources,” Broz said. “… We have a unique position in the marketplace. … It was just a great opportunity for two great organizations to come together. We’re very excited.”
Todd Chanon said the combined IMA | Waldman will continue to provide service in the manner both companies always have — albeit with a greater position and presence in Texas.
“There will be a greater depth of resources as it relates to service we can provide,” he said.
Michael Waldman said ultimately, the acquisition has created an entity “that will have a major impact on clients and associates throughout the world.”
Steve Waldman said many people have called this past week to congratulate Waldman Bros officials on the acquisition.
“They called to let us know how excited they are that the Waldman Bros culture will continue to exist, grow and expand resources,” he said. “I can be confident that the people I have worked with so many years will be taken care of in a way that no one else could have.”