(Reuters) – Private equity company Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:) Inc announced Monday that it had agreed to buy NSM Insurance Group, a U.S. specialty insurer from White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd in exchange for $1.78 Billion cash.

Carlyle stated that the transaction is likely to close by the end of the year. White Mountains will see an increase in its adjusted book value of $280 each share due to the transaction.

Consolidation in the insurance brokerage industry has been driven by private equity firms. According to Deloitte, the volume of insurance industry mergers and acquisitions has more than doubled to $58 billion by 2021, compared to $22 billion one year ago.