Locke Lord and Willkie Farr & Gallagher have won the top roles on Zurich’s $1bn (£670m) agricultural insurance deal to strengthen its position in the USA.

Willkie Farr chairman and New York based Thomas Cerabino led the transaction for Zurich American Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group. He was supported by corporate partner Rajab Abbassi, special counsel Elizabeth Bannigan and associate Laura Acker, who are all also based in the US city.

Under the terms of the deal, Zurich will acquire Rural Community Insurance Agency (RCIS) from Wells Fargo for just over $1bn.

Zurich’s in-house team was meanwhile led by Dennis Kerrigan, who has been the company’s executive vice-president, general counsel and company secretary for North America since 2008. Vice-president and senior assistant GC Doug Hatlestad also acted from Illinois on a deal that is intended to expand Zurich’s US position and its ability to provide agricultural insurance.

RCIS’ owner Wells Fargo Securities turned to Locke Lord corporate finance partner David Kendall, who advised the company on its acquisition. Wells Fargo’s head of financial institutions M&A Brian Moon and managing director Brian Moon additionally provided in-house assistance to the financial services company throughout negotiations.

The international insurer will pay Wells Fargo approximately $675m (£453m), plus the amount of excess capital in RCIS estimated at $375m (£251.6m) at the date of closing. RCIS will be fully integrated into Zurich in 2017, giving the company access to RCIS’ crop insurance programmes and products in the US.

Background to the deal

Zurich Insurance came close to another billion-dollar acquisition earlier this year, as it neared a £5bn deal with UK rival RSA Insurance. However, it abandoned the bid a month later saying the discussions had been terminated.

On this deal, Zurich employed a team from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to act during the discussions, with the magic circle frequently associated with the company’s corporate deals and holding a place on its global panel. According to The Lawyer Market Intelligence, Freshfields also represented the company on its agreement to acquire Kono Insurance earlier in 2015.

Yet while Freshfields is regularly turned to in the UK, Willkie Farr has been a trusted adviser on the other side of the Atlantic. Cerabino acted for the company on its 2003 sale of Zurich Life to Bank One Corp, with the US firm also representing Zurich Financial Services in its $1.67bn (£1.12bn) joint venture with Santander.