An investor consortium led by DFO Management, the family office of tech billionaire Michael Dell, is closing in on a $7.7bn take-private of insurance broker The Baldwin Group, the FT reported. The transaction is co-led by DFO and Sequence Holdings, a venture capital-backed group that invests in the service economy and deploys its own engineers alongside management teams. The consortium is expected to value Baldwin at $32.50 a share, equating to an enterprise value of $7.7bn, according to the FT.

That marks a nearly 90% premium to the company’s valuation in June, when reports of a possible sale first surfaced. Baldwin shares have risen close to 25% since the start of the year on take-private speculation, leaving it with a market capitalisation of $4.1bn as of Friday’s close, alongside net debt of $2.3bn at the end of June. For DFO, one of the world’s largest family offices, the deal would mark a return to the kind of large leveraged transaction that shaped its origins.

Its predecessor firm, MSD Capital, played a major role in the $24.9bn leveraged buyout of Dell Technologies alongside Silver Lake in 2013. More recently, DFO has taken minority positions in Silver Lake-led consortiums, including the purchases of Tik Tok’s US business and the take-private of Endeavor Holdings Group. Sequence launched earlier this year with the aim of using technology to lift the performance of service businesses, making its first minority investment in community lender Bank South.

It is backed by Silicon Valley venture firms including 8VC, Lux Capital, and Conviction, as well as DFO itself. The Baldwin talks come hard on the heels of Aon’s $17bn acquisition of KKR-backed USI Insurance at the end of last month, a sale set to generate the private equity firm a $3.3bn return. Baldwin itself specialises in commercial insurance brokerage, advising midsized and large companies on cover spanning cyber security, employee benefits, and real estate.

Based in Tampa, Florida, the business traces its roots to 2006, and co-founder Lowry Baldwin remains among its largest shareholders and serves as chair. For now, the parties are staying quiet. The sources cautioned that a deal remains contingent on clearing any final obstacles.