Eversheds Sutherland Advises Horace Mann on Transactions with Medical Mutual of Ohio

Under these agreements, Horace Mann will acquire the employee assistance provider Employee Services, LLC (ESI) through the acquisition of ESI membership interests, and separately, will acquire an individual supplemental platform through the acquisition of all outstanding capital stock of Reserve National Insurance Company (RNIC) and reinsure MedMutual Life Insurance Company’s group life and disability business while Medical Mutual of Ohio will retain the legal insurance entity.

Together, these established businesses bring deep expertise, strong customer relationships and complementary capabilities to Horace Mann. These transactions add nearly $200 million in annual revenue, serve more than one million covered lives across approximately 7,000 employer relationships, and add over 1,000 agents and brokers, significantly expanding Horace Mann’s customer reach and distribution capabilities.

The transactions are expected to be immediately accretive to Horace Mann’s core earnings per share and shareholder return on equity by strengthening the company's earnings profile through a combination of high-margin insurance businesses, recurring fee-based revenue and enhanced capital efficiency.

These transactions have a total net purchase price of approximately $240 million and will be financed through a combination of excess capital and borrowings under Horace Mann's existing revolving credit facility.

The ESI transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. The RNIC acquisition and the MedMutual Life Insurance Company group life and disability reinsurance transaction are expected to close in the first quarter of 2027. Each transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition of RNIC and the reinsurance business of MedMutual Life Insurance Company is also subject to regulatory approvals.

Read the full press release here.

The Eversheds Sutherland team was led by Insurance Partners Matt Hazlett and Ling Ling, with support from Insurance Partner Sean Wissman, Tax Partners Michael Hepburn and Laura Taylor, Antitrust Partner Josh Shapiro, Tax Senior Counsel Kriss Rizzolo, Privacy Senior Counsel Leslie Bender, Insurance Counsel Michele Spencer,  Tax Senior Associate Chris Lowther, Capital Markets Senior Associate Paige Spraker, and Insurance Associates Jeremy Bloomstone, Jiacong Wang and Joseph Szczesny.