Tag Archives: Insurance

New insurance group Inigo launches with c.$800 million and appoints Sir Howard Davies as Chairman ahead of commencing underwriting on 1 January 2021

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Private Equity London,
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  • Secures significant funding from blue chip institutional consortium of investors
  • Led by Richard Watson, former Chief Underwriting Officer of Hiscox, and a team of senior insurance professionals
  • Acquiring certain StarStone Lloyd’s assets, including its managing agency, as a platform to commence underwriting in 2021
  • Targeting a number of underserved sectors of the London Insurance and Reinsurance market
Inigo Limited (Inigo), a new insurance group, announces that it has successfully completed a capital raise of approximately $800 million from a consortium of global investors comprising (amongst others) funds controlled by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Enstar, J.C. Flowers & Co., Oak Hill Advisors, Qatar Investment Authority, Stone Point and Inigo’s management team. The funds give Inigo the capital base required to proceed with its plans to open for business in the 2021 year of account, subject to approvals from the Corporation of Lloyd’s.

Inigo is being founded by Richard Watson, former Chief Underwriting Officer of Hiscox who stepped down from the group last year after 33 years, along with Russell Merrett, former Managing Director of Hiscox London Market, and Stuart Bridges, former Chief Financial Officer of both Hiscox and ICAP.

Sir Howard Davies, Chairman of NatWest Group, has been appointed as Chairman. Sir Howard has a distinguished career in the City, business and government; he was Chairman of the Financial Services Authority from 1997 until 2003, Director of the London School of Economics from 2003 until 2011, and Chairman of Phoenix Group from 2012 until 2015.

As part of its preparations, Inigo also announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire certain insurance underwriting assets of StarStone Underwriting Ltd including its Lloyd’s Syndicate 1301 and its managing agency, from Enstar Group, subject to regulatory approvals. These are intended to form the foundation for Inigo’s operations as a specialty insurer, writing a streamlined portfolio of insurance and reinsurance risks. No legacy underwriting will be transferred to Inigo.

Inigo believes that current conditions are ideal to launch a new insurance business, at a time when demand across a number of classes of insurance and reinsurance is high. Inigo has chosen London as its principal base since it regards the overall insurance ecosystem offered by Lloyd’s as exceptionally attractive and believes it will best support the growth and development of the new syndicate.

Richard Watson said: “This significant capital raising, together with our acquisition, gives us the platform we need to turn Inigo from a concept into reality. We believe that 2021 will mark the beginning of an exciting growth phase for Lloyd’s and the London Insurance Market and Inigo will contribute to growing the specialty and reinsurance marketplace, as it returns to profitability. Sir Howard Davies joining our board validates our vision for Inigo and our determination to provide credible additional capacity and services to customers and brokers.

We are fully supportive of the direction that John Neal, Lloyd’s CEO, is taking the market, making it a more attractive and efficient place in which to trade. For a company like ours, entirely focused on underwriting, London also has the depth of young talent we need to develop the analytical and data-led approach that is at the core of what we hope to do.”

Inigo was advised on the transaction by Evercore, Guy Carpenter Securities and Clifford Chance.

About Inigo

Inigo is a specialty insurance and reinsurance business that will operate in the Lloyd’s of London market. The business is led by Richard Watson, Stuart Bridges and Russell Merrett bringing together a collective experience in excess of 80 years in the industry in aggregate.
www.inigoinsurance.com

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Intact to acquire RSA’s Canada, UK and international operations with CDPQ’s support

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Equity Markets Montréal,
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Intact Financial Corporation will invest $1.5 billion in technology in Quebec over five years

Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) today announced that, together with Tryg A/S (Tryg), it has reached an agreement for the acquisition of RSA Insurance Group plc (RSA). Pursuant to the transaction, IFC will, with the support of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), acquire RSA Group’s Canada, UK and International operations and co-own RSA Group’s Danish business with Tryg. To support its customer driven digital strategy and the growth resulting from the acquisition and integration of these operations, IFC will invest $1.5 billion in technology in Quebec over the next five years. This acquisition will also significantly increase the role and influence of several strategic teams based in Quebec, consolidate IFC’s significant economic impact in the province, and increase that impact through these additional investments.

“Intact Financial Corporation has its roots in Quebec,” said Charles Brindamour, CEO of Intact Financial Corporation. “While our success now extends well beyond Quebec’s borders, we still run a significant portion of our North American operations there. With the support of CDPQ, our acquisition of RSA will create additional demands and opportunities for the teams supporting our global operations; coupled with our future tech investments, this will provide a significant and lasting boost to the expansion of our strategic teams based in Quebec.”

“We’ve been partners with Intact Financial Corporation for over 10 years,” said Charles Emond, President and CEO, CDPQ. “Our investment has yielded positive returns for our depositors, thanks to the company’s strong track record of successfully integrating the companies they have acquired. We’re delighted to support this new acquisition, which will provide new growth opportunities for IFC, strengthen its leading position in Canada, and have a significant impact in Quebec’s financial and technology sectors.”

Additional investments in cutting-edge tech sectors

IFC’s growth is based on a long tradition of innovation and investments in technology that will accelerate with the acquisition of RSA. IFC will invest $1.5 billion over the next five years to support and grow the work of its digital, tech and AI development labs and software engineering teams. These Quebec-based teams will expand their scope and responsibilities as a result of the company’s growth and international operations, and to do this they will be hiring new talent. Over the next five years, more than 1,500 Quebec experts in user experience, design, mobile and software engineering, cybermetrics, machine learning and AI will work on developing and improving the digital customer experience, in addition to using technology to improve the efficiency of the company’s global operations.

Quebec talent driving growth for Intact and the Quebec economy

A number of IFC’s core operations are based in and directed from Quebec. The company has major teams that not only serve Quebecers, but also the rest of Canada and divisions across North America. Most of these teams will see their operations expand as the company’s international growth creates additional demands.

This includes the Intact Investment Management team, which will lead the company’s global investment operations and see its assets under management grow from $20 billion to $40 billion.

These expanded responsibilities for the Quebec-based teams will also enable IFC to act as a talent accelerator by providing even more high-calibre job opportunities for the next generation of Quebec university graduates, particularly in the actuarial, finance, technology and AI sectors.

IFC: A major employer rooted in the local economy

Since its beginnings in Quebec in 1907 (for the legacy company of Intact Insurance) and 1955 (for belairdirect), IFC has continued to grow steadily across the province in terms of its number of employees, investment, market share and community engagement.

IFC in Quebec today:

  • Over 5,000 employees in its Montreal, Anjou, Québec and Saint-Hyacinthe offices
  • Nearly one in three Quebecers and nearly one in four companies are insured through our Intact Insurance and belairdirect banners
  • More than 530 property and casualty insurance broker partners of all sizes located across Quebec
  • $1.6 billion in claim payments to Quebec customers, contributing to the province’s economic vitality by mobilizing the home restoration and renovation and automotive repair industries
  • Collaboration with several major Quebec universities, including Université Laval, Polytechnique, Université de Sherbrooke, ETS and and the Institut de valorisation des données (IVADO), a collaboration between HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal and Université de Montréal.

About Intact Financial Corporation

Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America, with over CAD$11 billion in total annual premiums. The Company has approximately 16,000 employees who serve more than five million personal, business and public sector clients through offices in Canada and the U.S.

In Canada, Intact distributes insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network of brokers, including its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and directly to consumers through belairdirect. Frank Cowan Company, a leading MGA, distributes public entity insurance programs including risk and claims management services in Canada.

In the U.S., Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions provides a range of specialty insurance products and services through independent agencies, regional and national brokers, and wholesalers and managing general agencies. Products are underwritten by the insurance company subsidiaries of Intact Insurance Group USA, LLC.

About CDPQ

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and para-public pension and insurance plans. As at June 30, 2020, it held CA$333.0 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit www.cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.

Cautionary note about forward-looking statements

Certain of the statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking statements. They include statements relating to, among other things, IFC’s offer to acquire RSA, its integration and growth plans, and its investment and hiring intentions in Quebec and in the digital, technology, AI development and software engineering sectors over the next five years. Forward looking statements often use words such as “believe”, “expect”, “estimate”, “intend”, “anticipate” and words of a similar meaning. Although the forward-looking statements are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, IFC cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements to make decisions, as they are subject to risks and uncertainties about IFC and are dependent on many factors, some of which are outside of IFC’s control. Investors should ensure the preceding information is carefully considered when reviewing forward-looking statements contained herein. The Company and management have no intention and undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Clearlake Capital Acquires Insurance Software Leader Zywave And Announces Strategic Acquisition Of Advisen

Aurora Capital

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and MILWAUKEE, Nov. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Clearlake”) today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Zywave, Inc. (“Zywave”) and has also acquired Advisen Ltd. (“Advisen”), further establishing the new platform as the leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of front office insurance solutions. Aurora Capital Partners (“Aurora”), previously the majority owner of Zywave, is investing alongside Clearlake in the transaction. The combined company will be led by Jason Liu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Zywave. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Zywave (PRNewsfoto/Clearlake Capital Group)
Zywave is a market-leading provider of cloud-based insurance distribution software, offering expansive digital solutions to strengthen and grow insurance businesses. Zywave’s mission critical software solutions help insurance brokerages manage customer relationships by streamlining sales and renewal processes, quote delivery, content generation, and data tracking and analytics.

Advisen is a leading provider of software and data solutions to the commercial property and casualty insurance market. Advisen’s proprietary data sets and applications focus on large, specialty risks offering information, analytics, ACORD messaging gateway, news, research, and events, connecting commercial brokers, insurance carriers and insurance organizations worldwide.

“Clearlake and Aurora’s investment positions Zywave to accelerate organic growth while increasing the pace of our inorganic activity, evidenced by the acquisition of Advisen,” said Mr. Liu of Zywave. “With Clearlake and Aurora’s operational support and financial backing, including implementing Clearlake’s O.P.S.® playbooks, we are in a great position to extend our leadership in delivering end-to-end solutions to insurance professionals globally.”

“The combination of Zywave and Advisen creates a unique software platform for the broader insurance market as stakeholders look to digitize mission critical workflows within their day-to-day operations,” said Behdad Eghbali, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, and Prashant Mehrotra, Partner, of Clearlake. “Zywave has created a differentiated SaaS product platform that will be strengthened by Advisen’s loss and policy data to enable smarter business decisions for insurance customers.”

“We are excited to support Zywave alongside Clearlake in the company’s next chapter of growth,” said Josh Klinefelter, Partner, and Rob Fraser, Partner, of Aurora. “Zywave is well positioned to continue building on its strong leadership position in front office software solutions, both organically and through accelerated add-on acquisition activity.”

William Blair & Company served as financial advisor to Zywave and Aurora. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to Advisen.

About Zywave

Zywave leads the insurance tech industry, fueling business growth for its partners with cloud-based sales management, client delivery, content and analytics solutions. Offering a technology platform embedded with robust data and the most comprehensive content portfolio available, we empower smarter business decisions throughout the entire customer lifecycle. More than 6,000 brokerages worldwide—including all of the top 100 U.S. insurance firms—use Zywave solutions to enhance client services, achieve business growth and promote greater health, wellness and safety. Additional information can be found at www.zywave.com.

About Advisen

Advisen is the leading provider of data, media, and technology solutions for the commercial property and casualty insurance market. Advisen’s proprietary data sets and applications focus on large, specialty risks. Through Web Connectivity Ltd., Advisen provides messaging services, business consulting, and technical solutions to streamline and automate insurance transactions. Advisen connects a community of more than 200,000 professionals through daily newsletters, conferences, and webinars. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in New York City, with offices in the US and the UK. Visit www.advisenltd.com to learn more.

About Clearlake

Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a leading investment firm founded in 2006 operating integrated businesses across private equity, credit and other related strategies. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake’s operational improvement approach, O.P.S.® The firm’s core target sectors are industrials, technology and consumer. Clearlake currently has approximately $25 billion of assets under management and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 200 investments. The firm has offices in Santa Monica and Dallas. More information is available at www.clearlake.com and on Twitter @ClearlakeCap.

About Aurora

Aurora Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm focused principally on control investments in middle-market companies with leading market positions, stable industry dynamics, attractive business model characteristics and actionable opportunities for growth in partnership with management. Aurora provides unique resources to its portfolio companies through its Strategy & Operations Program and its team of experienced operating advisors. Aurora’s investors include leading public and corporate pension funds, endowments and foundations active in private equity investing. For more information about Aurora Capital Partners, visit www.auroracap.com.

Clearlake Media Contact:
Lambert & Co.
Jennifer Hurson
845-507-0571
jhurson@lambert.com

Zywave Media Contact:
April Larsen
414-918-0547
april.larsen@zywave.com

Aurora Media Contact:
ASC Advisors
Steve Bruce
203-992-1230
sbsruce@ascadvisors.com

Taylor Ingraham
203-992-1230
tingraham@ascadvisors.com

SOURCE Clearlake Capital Group

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Convex Group Raises $1 Billion of Additional Capital

Onex

Convex is Well-Positioned to Capitalize on Insurance Market Opportunity –
Toronto,November 17,2020 –Onex Corporation(“Onex”) (TSX: ONEX) and its affiliated funds(the “Onex Group”), along with GIC, announced that they and a consortium of existing and newco-investors have committed to invest$1 billion in Convex Group Limited (“Convex”or the“Company”).This capital raise is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Convex is a specialty insurer and reinsurer focused on complex risks that launched with $1.7 billion of committed capital in April of 2019.

Convex’initial invested capital was raised from the Convex management team, Onex Partners V,PSP Investments and a consortium of co-investors.The additional capital has been committed by the original investors as well as multiple new investors led by GIC.
Bobby Le Blanc, President of Onexand Head of Onex Partners, commented, “Over the pasteighteenmonths, the Convex management team has made significant progress in realizing our original investment thesis, having successfully executed on its recruiting plan,implemented key operational systems and processes, established strong relationships with brokers, and written over$1 billion inpremiums. This momentum, coupled with the favorable P&C insurance market conditions,have further improved the risk-adjusted return opportunity and make us confident in the continued success of the business.”
Stephen Catlin, CEO of Convex,said,“Onex and our existing investor base have provided us with tremendous support in building the business and we welcome the new investor partners,including GIC. We are delighted to have additional capital as this will enable us to takefull advantageof the hardening market.”

Choo Yong Cheen, Chief Investment Officer of Private Equity at GIC,said,“GIC is pleased to partner with Stephen, Paul, and the rest of the Convex team given their tremendous successto dateand long track record of disciplined underwriting. We believe that Convex’ unique valueproposition within complex risk is well-suited for the current market environment. As a long-term investor, we look forward to working alongside Onex and othershareholdersto support the Company as it embarks on its next phase of growth.”

Martin Longchamps, Managing Director, Private Equity at PSP Investments, said, “We are pleased to continue our successful partnership with Onex and Convex by supporting the Company’s accelerated growth strategy. The Convex management team has established an agile, world-class specialty insurer with a strong operational foundation. This transaction is in line with our strategy of making sizeable, direct investments in high-quality companies alongside experienced partners.”
The capital raise includes more than $300 million from the Onex Group, including $200 million from Onex Partners V.

About Convex
Convex Group is a specialty insurer and reinsurer focused on complex risks founded by Stephen Catlin and Paul Brand. With operations in London and Bermuda, Convex occupies a unique position in the insurance industry and combines unrivalled experience, reputation and lessons learned with the freedom and independence of a new balance sheet.

About Onex
Founded in 1984, Onex invests and manages capital on behalf of its shareholders, institutional fainvestors and high net worth clients from around the world. Onex’ platforms include: Onex Partners, private equity funds focused on larger opportunities in North America and Europe; ONCAP, private equity funds focused on middle market and smaller opportunities in North America; Onex Credit, which manages primarily non-investment grade debt through collateralized loan obligations, senior loan strategies and other private credit strategies; and Gluskin Sheff’s wealth management services including its actively managed public equity and public credit funds. In total, Onex has approximately $36.6 billion of assets under management, of which approximately $6.7 billion is its own shareholder capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms.
The Onex Partners and ONCAP businesses have assets of $36 billion, generate annual revenues of $22 billion and employ approximately 149,000 people worldwide. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com. Onex’ security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain, without limitation, statements concerning possible or assumed future operations, performance or results preceded by, followed by or that include words such as “believes”, “expects”, “potential”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “intends”, “plans” and words of similar connotation, which would constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information because they involve significant and diverse risks and uncertainties that may cause actual operations, performance or results to be materially different from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by Canadian securities law, Onex is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or other factors. These cautionary statements expressly qualify all forward-looking statements in this press release.

For further information:
Jill Homenuk
Managing Director, Shareholder Relations and Communications
Tel: 416.362.7711

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Cinven and GIC to acquire specialist insurance broker Miller

Cinven

Cinven, the international private equity firm, and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, today announce that they have reached an agreement to acquire leading specialist insurance and (re)insurance broker, Miller, from its partners and corporate member, Willis Towers Watson (“WTW”). Financial details of the transaction are not disclosed.

Founded in 1902, Miller is a leading specialist insurance and (re)insurance broker operating in the UK, Lloyd’s and internationally. It employs more than 640 people through its offices in London, Ipswich, Brussels, Paris, Singapore and Geneva, covering the world’s major insurance hubs. Miller operates across a number of specialist areas, including marine, energy, credit and political risks, delegated authorities, professional risks, property, casualty, sports and entertainment and (re)insurance. Headquartered in London, it places c. £2 billion worth of premiums annually.

Cinven and GIC believe Miller is an attractive investment opportunity based on:

  • The high-quality, cash generative business model, with strong brand equity and an attractive, recurring revenue base;
  • Its strong position in the wholesale insurance markets with a long-standing client base, strong management team and deep bench of talent with significant expertise across its specialist areas;
  • Its proven track record of steady and consistent growth in recent years, delivering robust performance through the COVID-19 pandemic and prior downturns;
  • The business has an opportunity to benefit significantly from independent ownership, given the ability to accelerate its long-term growth profile through a combination of organic growth in a specialist sector, ambitious plans to recruit new specialist brokers and execute selective incremental bolt-on M&A over time; and
  • The underlying insurance market is forecast to continue growing in line with GDP, with potential additional upside for specialty insurers, further supported by short-term rate hardening.

Cinven Funds’ previous investments in the European insurance sector include Guardian Financial Services in the UK, Eurovita in Italy, and Viridium in Germany. Other UK-headquartered financial services investments by the Cinven Funds include Partnership Assurance, NewDay and Premium Credit. GIC has invested in companies such as Rothesay and RAC in the UK, Mass Mutual Asia in Hong Kong, and China Pacific Insurance group in China.

The Miller transaction represents the first investment from Cinven’s new financial services sector-focused strategy, which will be looking at similar long-term opportunities across Europe.

Luigi Sbrozzi, Partner of Cinven, commented:

“Cinven is delighted to be making this investment in Miller alongside GIC. Miller is a highly attractive, resilient specialist insurance business with strong long-term growth opportunities across all of its segments and a history of consistent growth through various economic cycles. We see opportunities both organically, by recruiting new specialist brokers, and through incremental M&A over time. Miller also offers a scalable platform, particularly internationally, with associated benefits for clients as the business develops and expands over the long-term. We believe that independent ownership is the right model to really accelerate the company’s growth.”

Yong Cheen Choo, Chief Investment Officer of Private Equity, GIC, said:

“Miller is one of the top and most established wholesale brokers with highly respected franchises in areas such as marine & energy, sports & entertainment, and cargo. We are pleased to partner with Cinven and look forward to supporting Greg Collins and his team to seize future expansion opportunities for Miller. As a long-term investor, we are confident in the growth potential of the specialty insurance sector, and of Miller within it.”  

Greg Collins, CEO, Miller, added:

“We are very pleased to be partnering with Cinven and GIC, whose knowledge and insurance investment expertise will enormously support our business as we enter this important next phase of growth. We are excited about bringing together our combined expertise to bolster our best in class client service and solutions and strengthen Miller’s position in our core activities. This includes making incremental targeted, strategic investments as we look to realise our ambition of becoming the leading independent specialist (re)insurance broking firm. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank WTW for their support over the last five years.”

The transaction is expected to complete in Q1 2021 and is subject to regulatory approval.

Cinven and GIC advisors included: Barclays (M&A); Clifford Chance (Legal); Bain (Commercial); PwC (Financial, Operations, IT); Deloitte (Tax, Structuring); Marsh (Insurance) and FTI Consulting (Communications).

Advisors to the sellers included: Goldman Sachs International (Financial Advisor to WTW); Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and Addleshaw Goddard LLP (Legal) and Jamieson Corporate Finance LLP (Financial Advisor to Miller’s Partners).

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Active Assurances strengthens its health division with the acquisition of the portfolio of Cabinet Wilhelm SA

Activa Capital

One year after the acquisition of AFI Assurances, Active Assurances, the specialist digital insurance broker, is pursuing its development strategy and announces the acquisition of the healthcare insurance portfolio of Cabinet WILHELM SA. This transaction enables the Group to accelerate its development in the healthcare market.

Cabinet WILHELM is a French broker based in Lons (Southwestern France), specialised in the digital selling of health, accident and life insurance products to B2C customers.

The Company was created and managed by its founder, Gilbert Wilhelm, and developed with the support of its main shareholder, the Swiss Life Group. The firm was a pioneer in the distribution of health insurance policies via the internet and quickly built up a strong reputation and recognized know-how in this field.

With this operation, Frédéric Bacmann, Chief Executive Officer and founder of AFI Assurances, consolidates the Group’s healthcare portfolio by exceeding 35,000 policies in its portfolio.

This operation is financed by equity from Active Assurances, backed by Activa Capital, BPIfrance and Idinvest Partners. This operation underlines once more Activa Capital’s ability to support entrepreurial managers in the transformation of growing SMEs and the structuring of external growth operations.

Thomas Riottot, Co-founder of Active Assurances Groupe, declared: « We are delighted with this operation, which will strengthen AFI Assurances’ development in its market. We remain on the lookout for other build-ups operations that will enable us to accelerate our develpment. »

Frédéric Bacmann, Founding Director of AFI Assurances, stated: « With this operation, we are integrating new sales staff motivated by the Group’s development project and by our know-how in the distance selling of health insurance policies. »

Participants

Buyers
Active Assurances Groupe : Didier Naccache, Thomas Riottot, Denis Salmoiraghi, Frédéric Bacmann, Nolwenn Oreal
Activa Capital : Alexandre Masson, David Quatrepoint, Timothée Héron
Lawyers : Jean-Baptiste Le Jariel – FORTEM Avocats

Vendors
Gilbert Wilhelm, Founder
Lawyers : Xavier Perinne – AFFINA Legal

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Hg agrees the sale of Eucon to VHV Group

HG Capital

Münster, Germany and London, United Kingdom – 6 November 2020: Hg, Europe’s leading software investor, today announces that it has agreed the sale of Eucon Group to VHV Group, a leading German insurance group. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary anti-trust approvals and closing is expected later this year.

Eucon is a leading provider of best-in-class information and data-based systems for efficient product management in the automotive aftermarket. Customers include car manufacturers and suppliers, as well as a variety of workshop chains. For insurers, Eucon digitalises claims management and is one of the sector leaders for digital platform solutions for data and document processing. In addition, Eucon offers digital solutions for the real estate industry for efficient and transparent invoice management.

“Together with Hg, we have written a great success story over the last five years. We would like to thank Benedikt Joeris and his team for their partnership and trusting cooperation. We have been successfully cooperating with the VHV Group for some time now and therefore could not have hoped for a better new investor. By providing platform solutions, we help our customers tap the digital potential of their industry and ensure sustainable access to the key technologies they require. With VHV as a robust, powerful and innovative partner, we can achieve this goal even more effectively and ensure that this open platform strategy is available to our customers for the long term.”

Sven Krüger, CEO of the Eucon Group

“It has been a real privilege to work with Sven, the founders and entire team at Eucon. Today we part ways after five very productive years of working together. Eucon’s business sits at the intersection of two growth drivers in which Hg has built substantial experience: the value of big data in the automotive sector and the increasing digitalisation of the insurance and real estate industry – and together we have built a great business in these areas. We are delighted that the team will be able to continue this journey with VHV, a true leader in insurance across Germany. We’re also pleased to see the strength of our networks and our track record continue to drive value in small and medium enterprises across Germany.”

Benedikt Joeris, Director at Hg

“Eucon can look back on a very successful few years of development alongside Hg. Our collaboration has been very valuable to the business and we enjoyed working closely together. We look forward to continuing Eucon’s growth with VHV.”

The founders of Eucon Group, Maurice and Marcel Oosenbrugh

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New Mountain Sells Majority Stake in OneDigital to Onex

Nmc

Investment Values Leading Employee Benefits and Retirement Advisor at $2.65 Billion and Positions OneDigital for Continued Rapid Growth

New York, NY – October 8, 2020 – New Mountain Capital (“New Mountain”) today announced it has agreed to sell a majority stake in OneDigital, a leading U.S. provider of employee benefits insurance brokerage and retirement consulting services, to Onex Corporation (“Onex”) (TSX: ONEX) and its affiliated funds (the “Onex Group”). New Mountain and OneDigital employees will roll a significant portion of their existing investments into the transaction. Founded in 2000, OneDigital is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and has more than 2,000 employees in over 100 offices across the United States.

“OneDigital has established a leading national insurance brokerage and a customer- and employee-centric culture which drives business performance,” said Todd Clegg, an Onex Managing Director. “The company has a very impressive management team led by Adam Bruckman and is well positioned to grow both organically and by continuing its track record of successful acquisitions. We are thrilled to partner with Adam, the rest of the OneDigital team and New Mountain.”

“Our world-class employees and investment in holistic health, wealth and HR solutions have allowed us to continually grow our market position by providing our clients with a level of value that is unparalleled in the market,” commented Mr. Bruckman, President and Chief Executive Officer of OneDigital. “We look forward to our next phase of growth in partnership with Onex and New Mountain.”

“OneDigital’s more than four-fold growth in enterprise value since 2017 demonstrates New Mountain’s commitment to partnership and business-building through organic growth and acquisitions. With the support of Onex, who has deep industry expertise and an aligned long-term investment philosophy, we expect the company to have similar successes going forward,” said Robert Mulcare, Managing Director of New Mountain.

The transaction values OneDigital at $2.65 billion. The new equity investment of approximately $960 million will be made by the Onex Group, including Onex Partners V. Upon closing, the Onex Group and employees of OneDigital will own approximately 83% of the company. The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of 2020 subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

About New Mountain Capital

New Mountain Capital is a New York-based investment firm that emphasizes business building and growth, rather than debt, as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, public equity, and credit funds with over $25 billion in assets under management. New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in carefully selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies. For more information on New Mountain Capital, please visit www.newmountaincapital.com.

About Onex

Founded in 1984, Onex invests and manages capital on behalf of its shareholders, institutional investors and high net worth clients from around the world. Onex’ platforms include: Onex Partners, private equity funds focused on larger opportunities in North America and Europe; ONCAP, private equity funds focused on middle market and smaller opportunities in North America; Onex Credit, which manages primarily non-investment grade debt through collateralized loan obligations, senior loan strategies and other private credit strategies; and Gluskin Sheff’s wealth management services including its actively managed public equity and public credit funds. In total, Onex has approximately $35.6 billion of assets under management, of which approximately $6.6 billion is its own shareholder capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms.

The Onex Partners and ONCAP businesses have assets of $45 billion, generate annual revenues of $25 billion and employ approximately 165,000 people worldwide. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com.  Onex’ security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com.

About OneDigital

OneDigital is the leading strategic advisory firm in the U.S. and has consistently led from the front as a workplace ally for 20 years. OneDigital’s unique ability to converge health, wealth and human resources into a hub of services and business guidance has empowered companies to create workplaces that attract and retain talent while fueling innovation and company growth. As employee healthcare, wellness and workplace benefits continue to shift, companies of all sizes have relied on OneDigital’s exceptional advisory teams for counsel and its adjacent services, including employee benefits, holistic HR services, retirement and wealth management, employee wellbeing and pharmacy consulting. Headquartered in Atlanta, OneDigital’s more than 100 offices and 2,000 business strategists serve the needs of over 50,000 employers across the United States.

OneDigital has been named to the Inc. 5000 List of America’s fastest-growing companies every year since 2007, one of only 12 companies to do so. Currently listed as 18th on Business Insurance’s list of 100 Largest U.S. Brokers, OneDigital’s deep analytic abilities and experienced advisors deliver insights that reduce business risk and improve plan design and performance. For more information, visit www.onedigital.com.

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IK Investment Partners to acquire You Sure

ik-investment-partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap II Fund has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in You Sure Investments B.V. (“You Sure” or “the Company”) from Synergia Capital Partners (“Synergia”). The transaction is subject to AFM clearance. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

You Sure is a leading Dutch insurance distribution platform, providing insurance to small businesses and individuals. Operating mainly in the Property and Casualty (“P&C”) segment, You Sure acts both as an insurance broker and a Managing General Agent (“MGA”), and currently serves over 60,000 customers.

Headquartered in Ridderkerk, You Sure employs over 130 people across seven offices in the Netherlands. The Company was founded in 2011 by Ger Knikman and Joep van den Eijkel, who have been active in the insurance industry for over 30 and 40 years, respectively, and have worked together since 2005. You Sure partnered with Synergia in March 2019 and following the sale to IK, the co-founders will be reinvesting in the business to support further growth.

The Company has significantly expanded its footprint over the last nine years through strategic acquisitions, a strong customer focus and its effective IT platform. To date, 35 insurance portfolios have been acquired and integrated into You Sure’s proprietary platform, which the Company plans to continue with IK’s support.

The transaction represents the 11th investment from IK’s €550 million Small Cap II Fund.

Ger Knikman, CEO of You Sure commented: “We have thoroughly enjoyed working with Synergia, and with their support we have achieved our three-year plan in just 18 months. As we embark on the next stage of our growth, we are delighted to partner with IK. With their established presence in the Netherlands and track record of delivering long-term value, we look forward to proceeding with our strategic pipeline of acquisitions while delivering strong organic growth.”

Sander van Vreumingen, Partner at IK and advisor to the IK Small Cap II Fund, said: “You Sure is a strong insurance platform that has shown impressive growth under the leadership of Ger and Joep. We are attracted by the Company’s focus on quality and customers’ relationships driven by its proprietary digital platform. With the sector about to embark on a phase of consolidation, we are excited to partner with You Sure and help the business grow further and deliver even more for its customers.”

Leo Schenk, Managing Director at Synergia, commented: “We have had a fantastic journey with You Sure over the last 18 months and sincerely enjoyed working with Ger, Joep and the team. With a strong platform, ambitious growth strategy and their knowledge of the insurance business, they have a strong future ahead of them with IK.”

For further questions, please contact: 

Maitland/AMO
James McFarlane
T: +44 (0) 20 7379 5151
jmcfarlane@maitland.co.uk 

IK Investment Partners
Nastasja Vojvodic
T: +44 (0) 20 7304 4300
nastasja.vojvodic@ikinvest.com

About IK Investment Partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €13 billion of capital and invested in over 135 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

About IK Small Cap II

The €550 million IK Small Cap II Fund (“IK Small Cap II” or “the Fund”) closed in 2018 and invests in growing businesses across IK’s four core sectors: Business Services, Consumer/Food, Engineered Products and Healthcare. Dedicated investment teams in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Hamburg, London, Paris and Stockholm look to support businesses with an Enterprise Value of between c. €30 million and c. €100 million across the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com/IK-Funds/ik-small-cap-ii-fund

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Aquiline Capital Partners To Lead The Merger Of CodeBlue And MADSKY

Aquila Capital

NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Aquiline Capital Partners today announced the signing of definitive agreements in which it will merge Insurance Claims Management, Inc., which operates under the CodeBlue brand, and FV Holdings, LLC dba MADSKY Managed Repair Program (MADSKY). The combination will bring together two industry-leading providers, offering a unique and unified interior and exterior emergency services and direct repair capability. Hunter Powell, currently CEO of MADSKY, will become CEO of the combined business.

CodeBlue is a rapidly growing provider of property claims outsourcing solutions for the insurance industry, using proven science and industry-leading technology to generate superior service and cost outcomes. The company was founded by Paul Gross with the introduction of a revolutionary water damage mitigation solution. It has since expanded to provide a “whole home” set of property claims outsourcing solutions, including First Notice of Loss, Water Mitigation, Direct Property Repair, Desk Repair and Contents Valuation for a multitude of insurance companies.

MADSKY is revolutionizing the handling of roofing and exterior restoration needs in the insurance claims and broader property management space. MADSKY combines a claims concierge service with a network of vetted and highly qualified contractors. The firm offers a revolutionary program that simplifies the property restoration process and helps homeowners get back to their lives faster than ever before. In addition, leveraging its strong base of experienced roofing professionals, MADSKY offers several proprietary expert services aimed at aligning claim outcomes across stakeholders and decreasing loss severity.

“Both CodeBlue and MADSKY utilize technology-enabled claims delivery models that benefit insureds, insurance carriers and contractors,” stated Jeff Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aquiline Capital Partners. “We are excited to back Hunter, Paul and the combined leadership team as they further their market leadership in water mitigation and roofing while also entering compelling new areas where we will provide expertise and capital to support their growth.”

“Combining CodeBlue and MADSKY brings together the leaders in managing interior and exterior damage assessment and repair. The combined entity will offer unique, value-added and mutually beneficial solutions to insurance carriers, property managers and individual property owners,” said Hunter Powell. “Both firms share a purpose-driven ethos and a people-centric mentality, and together will bring unmatched focus and capabilities to delivering industry-leading services that blend results and performance with care and compassion. It is an incredible privilege to lead this organization.”

“Aquiline Capital Partners has tremendous expertise in insurance, insurance claims outsourcing and financial technology,” said Paul Gross. “Together we will continue to expand our property claim solutions offerings, extend the combined company’s technology platform and market leadership position and develop deeper carrier partnerships.”

About Insurance Claims Management (ICM) Headquartered in Springfield, Ohio with additional offices in Hudson, Ohio and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, ICM, operating under the CodeBlue brand, provides independent First Notice of Loss, Water Mitigation, Direct Repair, Desk Repair and Contents Valuation outsourcing solutions to insurance carriers throughout the United States and Canada. Leveraging proprietary technology during FNOL, CodeBlue captures live videos created by policyholders and contractors get the claim assessed, initiated, approved, and finished more quickly while reducing traditional expense. The platform facilitates CodeBlue contractor management and facilitates communication and business processes for insurance carriers, ICM, network service providers and policyholders. For more information, visit www.codeblue360.com.

About MADSKY

MADSKY is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado and provides insurance carriers and homeowners with the largest network of skilled trade professionals across the U.S. to repair roof and exterior damage following a hail or wind event. MADSKY is the trusted, go-to partner for managing the entire roof restoration process. MADSKY’s network of skilled roofing contractors, general contractors, independent adjusters, suppliers, manufacturers, and more are responsible for doing the restoration work. Learn more at www.MADSKYmrp.com.

About Aquiline Capital Partners

Aquiline Capital Partners, founded in 2005, is a private investment firm based in New York and London investing in businesses across the financial services sector in financial technology, insurance, investment management, business services, credit and healthcare. The firm has $5.3 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2019. For more information about Aquiline, its investment professionals, and its portfolio companies, please visit: www.aquiline.com.

 

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