Amalgamations and Notifying RIBO of Brokerage Ownership Changes

January was a busy month for RIBO. Many amalgamations were finalized on January 1^st of this year. As the merger and acquisition trend is expected to continue in the near future, RIBO is looking to streamline the process to update your firm’s registration information.

For those looking to purchase or sell a brokerage in the future, here are a few helpful tips:

1. Notify the RIBO office of the change and include plans for legal amalgamation and deregistration of other RIBO firm licenses. 
2. Notify the RIBO office of any change in owners, officers and directors.
3. Notify the RIBO office of any updates to the Supervising Broker, Deputy Principal Broker and/or the Principal Broker.
   • Please note, when a sale of a firm occurs, the current Principal Broker cannot resign from their responsibilities until RIBO has been notified that a new Principal Broker has been appointed. A notice of resignation from the resigning Principal Broker should also be shared with RIBO.
4. Provide RIBO a list of employees to be transferred to the amalgamated firm and notify RIBO of any other staff changes.
5. Ensure that the legal name(s) of the amalgamated entities are listed on the firm’s current Errors and Omissions certificate of insurance.
6. For all legal amalgamations, complete an amalgamation application form to update your firm information, including legal name changes and trade names.
7. Notify the Facility Association of the firms being acquired, and any business name changes. This requirement is only applicable to firms selling Ontario auto insurance.

To make the process easier, RIBO has developed an amalgamation application form for Principal brokers to complete once a legal amalgamation has taken place. The form will be made available online in the coming months. If you have any questions or want to notify RIBO of any upcoming changes, or to obtain a copy of an amalgamation form, please contact licensing@ribo.com.