Confie Seguros, a U.S. personal lines insurance broker primarily serving the Hispanic population and a portfolio company of Genstar Capital, has been acquired by ABRY Partners.
Confie Seguros is a national insurance distribution company primarily focused on the insurance needs of Hispanic consumers. Confie Seguros has annual revenue approaching $200 million with over 300 retail locations. The company has leading market positions in California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Washington, Oregon, New York, New Jersey, and Nevada and expects to continue its expansion in those and other states, including Illinois, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The company was founded in 2008 and is based in New York, NY (www.confieseguros.com).
Genstar partnered with insurance executives in 2008 to establish Confie Seguros and has since built the company into a national insurance distribution company primarily focused on the needs of Hispanic consumers. During Genstar’s ownership, the company grew to over 300 retail locations with annual revenues exceeding $200 million. Confie Seguros was rated among the top 10 in revenues in Insurance Journal’s latest top 100 ranking of insurance agencies and in Best’s Review’s 2012 Top 20 Global Insurance Brokers.
“We are excited to be partnering with Joe Waked, Mordy Rothberg and the rest of the management of Confie Seguros,” said Brent Stone, a Partner at ABRY. “We believe strongly in the business model and the ability of management to continue to expand the company into new geographies and lines of business.”
ABRY Partners invests in the media, communications and information sectors. ABRY is currently investing ABRY Partners VII (a $1.6 billion fully-capitalized traditional private equity fund), ABRY Senior Equity III (a $750 million fully-capitalized senior equity/mezzanine fund) and ABRY Advanced Securities Fund II (a $1.2 billion fully-capitalized senior debt fund). The firm is located in Boston, MA (www.abry.com).
Genstar Capital is a private equity firm that invests in middle-market companies and builds value in those businesses by utilizing the expertise of its operating partners. Genstar has more than $3 billion of committed capital under management and targets investments within the life sciences, healthcare services, financial & business services, software & software services and industrial technology industries. The firm was founded in 1988 and is based in San Francisco, CA (www.gencap.com).
“We are very pleased with the outcome of this investment for our investors and also for Confie Seguros’s management team and employees,” said J. Ryan Clark, a Managing Director of Genstar. “Building Confie into a strong national insurance provider demonstrates the firm’s strategy of identifying key growth sectors and working with successful industry executives like John Addeo and CEO Joe Waked to build successful businesses. We want to thank John Addeo, John Klaeb, Joe Waked, Mordy Rothberg and the rest of the Confie management team for a great partnership.”
Mr. Waked will continue as CEO of Confie and Mordy Rothberg, President, will continue in that executive role. “Confie was established with a single platform of 30 stores and with the help of Genstar’s team we built a leader in providing insurance and other financial services to the underserved Hispanic community,” said Mr. Waked. “Our new financial partner, ABRY Partners, shares our vision for Confie’s continued expansion and we look forward to further building the company and expanding its product offerings as we capitalize on the growth dynamics of this sector.”
J.P. Morgan Securities and RBC Capital Markets advised Confie Seguros on the transaction. Alexander Sica, President and Founder of Sica Consultants, advised ABRY Partners on debt financing commitments for this transaction which was provided by RBC Capital Markets and GE Capital.
© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-12-12
