Synex Business Performance is entering the Francophone European market by becoming the majority shareholder of FMA Group, a firm operating in the insurance brokerage sector in France, headed by Ludovic Dumont.
This independent company has several divisions, including one for products it designs itself, much like a managing general agent in Canada. It works with a network of over 2,500 distributors, either directly or through brokers.
FMA has developed its expertise in mobility insurance: motorcycles, automobiles, boats, etc. The group is also present in commercial risk insurance, accommodation insurance, and personal insurance (individual health and life).
In 2025, according to the press release issued March 5, FMA generated €45 million in revenue and employed nearly 200 people. It has about 250,000 insured clients, the vast majority of whom are in France.
FMA distinguishes itself through "the quality of its advisory services, its deep knowledge of the European market, and its ability to support businesses in both property and casualty insurance as well as life and health insurance," Synex stated in its press release.
In an interview held in April 2025, Yan Charbonneau, President and Chief Vision Officer of Synex, expressed the desire to expand into French-speaking Europe.
In a recent interview with the Insurance Portal regarding the acquisition of FMA Group, he indicated that initial contact was made with the company towards the end of summer 2025.
To get acquainted with Ludovic Dumont, Charbonneau used intermediaries, namely the accounting firm Deloitte and Fabien Loszach, a sales specialist who divides his time between Montreal and Paris.
An investment fund holding a stake in FMA was selling its shares, which were acquired by Synex. Ludovic Dumont, who was also an investor in this fund, reinvested the proceeds of this sale in FMA's share capital. He remains a co-owner and partner in the company and will be responsible for developing Synex's business in Europe.
The platform
FMA was founded in 1996. "Ludovic took over when the company was still relatively small, and he built a solid team for the various product lines that the group markets," explains Charbonneau. “We wanted to have the same kind of platform we have here, a multidisciplinary company that can help us integrate future acquisitions,” he told Insurance Portal.
“Our name is circulating there, and if opportunities arise, we will be informed. There are few equivalents in Europe where you find large institutional investors among brokerage firm partners, as has recently become the case in Canada and is already common in the United States,” he said.
“Furthermore, at FMA, they appreciated the possibility of continuing to operate their businesses as they did before. That’s what we’re doing here (in Canada) with the firms that are joining our group within Synex,” he added. All FMA employees will retain their positions.
The integration of FMA Group offers Synex the opportunity to support its Canadian clients in their European expansion, and this partnership can also be beneficial to FMA’s corporate clients who need insurance in Canada.
From left to right: Émile Sauvageau, Partner and Chief Financial Officer of Synex; Ludovic Dumont, President of FMA Group; and Yan Charbonneau, President and Chief Vision Officer at Synex Business Performance.
Group Insurance
This is the second transaction announced by Synex in 2026. At the end of January, Synex announced the merger of its group insurance subsidiary with Protexio, a firm led by Patrick Blanchette, who founded it in Drummondville, Quebec in 2017. Blanchette, who became Senior Vice President of Synex Group Solutions, brings with him a team of 20 people, said Yan Charbonneau.
Synex's group insurance division was created from the combined expertise in this field, spread across three separate companies: AFL Group Solutions, JDF Financial Services, and Innov-Médic.
In announcing the merger on January 29, the partners stated their intention to combine "the advisory expertise and network strength of Synex Benefit Solutions with Protexio’s actuarial and technological expertise."
"Their products and the digital platform they use at Protexio are very different from what other firms offer…It’s more geared towards younger generations of workers, and there’s more flexibility in the coverage offered,” Charbonneau told Insurance Portal.
Blanchette worked for several years at Mercer, which allowed him to develop his expertise with large accounts. “This will help us expand Synex’s offering to large companies,” said Charbonneau.
