Frost Insurance to Acquire Houston-based Human Resource Consulting Firm, Stone Partners, Inc.

HOUSTON, Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost Insurance today announced it will acquire Stone Partners, Inc., a human resource consulting firm that specializes in compensation, benefits and outsourcing services, effective on January 1, 2012. Stone Partners will operate as a division of Frost Insurance.

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Making the announcement were Dick Evans, chairman and CEO of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc., parent company of Frost, and Jim Stone, managing director of Stone Partners, Inc.

"This is a strategic acquisition for Frost, as Stone Partners will introduce new core services to our customers that will allow us to add value to existing business relationships and expand to new business opportunities," said Dick Evans. "Stone Partners is a very reputable and well-managed company with a culture similar to ours, and we look forward to sharing other Frost services with its many clients."

"With reform changing the way companies look at health care purchasing, acquiring Stone Partners gives us the ability to provide a full complement of HR consulting and advisory services under the Frost brand," said Bruce Burdett, president of Frost Insurance. "It will be a great addition to our employee benefits offerings while also bringing new services that we believe will appeal to Frost's business customers."

"We are pleased to be joining Frost, which is a prestigious and highly regarded Texas-based organization," said Jim Stone, managing director of Stone Partners. "This partnership will give us the opportunity to offer consulting, compensation and outsourcing services to Frost's existing business customers. At the same time, we will be introducing our clients to the broad range of banking, trust and insurance services Frost offers. We believe it is a great match."

Originally established as J.E. Stone & Associates in 1987, Stone Partners was founded in 2000 to provide consulting services to employers and plan participants throughout the United States and the world. It offers actuarial services, benefit administration, communications, compensation, managed payroll administration, health and welfare, human resources management and retirement services. The company has 25 employees and offices in Houston, Dallas and Austin.

Frost Insurance, the insurance subsidiary of Frost, ranks 71st of the top 100 insurance firms in the U.S. and provides a full range of property and casualty, group employee benefits, estate planning and business succession and personal insurance needs throughout Texas. Frost is the banking, investment and insurance operation of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR), a financial holding company headquartered in San Antonio, with $19.5 billion in assets at September 30, 2011. One of 24 U.S. banks included in the KBW Bank Index, Frost provides a wide range of banking, investments and insurance services to businesses and individuals in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio regions. Founded in 1868, Frost has helped clients with their financial needs during three centuries.