Genstar Capital has announced the signing of an agreement to sell Evolution1, a provider of consumer directed health (CDH) payments and technology, to WEX (NYSE:WEX) for $532.5 million. Genstar invested in Evolution1 in 2010. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter.
“The successful investment in Evolution1 is another strong example of Genstar’s ability to transform businesses into innovative industry leaders,” said Jean-Pierre Conte, Chairman and Managing Director of Genstar Capital. “Evolution1 is particularly exciting as we coordinated our sector specialization from multiple industry disciplines – healthcare, software, and financial services – to build and grow this tremendous company. We are delighted to have worked with the Evolution1 management team, as this transaction marks an exciting moment and a successful exit for Genstar.”
Evolution1® simplifies the business of healthcare. The company provides healthcare software and payment solutions that administer and manage consumer directed accounts. The firm has a network of 500 partner organizations that enable the company to deliver its products to 80,000 employer groups and 9,500,000 consumers across the country. Evolution1 provides software, payment and mobile solutions that administer and manage consumer directed healthcare accounts. The company’s administrative software solutions, driven by patented technology, allow more than 10 million consumers to spend electronically through prepaid funds in CDH accounts such as Health Spending Accounts (HSAs), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Defined Contribution, and more. Evolution1’s cloud-based solutions provide a single end-to-end intuitive user experience that reduces costs, saves time and ultimately simplifies the business of healthcare. The company is based in Fargo, ND (www.evolution1.com).
“Evolution1 is an industry leader with a bright future. During Genstar’s ownership, Evolution1 developed and expanded its solutions to achieve strong organic growth. The company today serves more than 10 million consumers and more than 90,000 employer groups. The platform is poised to continue building on this momentum, and we are pleased to have worked with this talented senior management team to dramatically grow this business. It is gratifying that WEX sees the continued exciting growth prospects for Evolution1,” said Eli Weiss, a Principal at Genstar.
Genstar Capital invests from $50 million to $400 million in middle-market companies that have enterprise values from $50 million to $1 billion and EBITDAs greater than $15 million. Sectors of interest include financial services, software, healthcare, and industrial technology industries. The firm was founded in 1988 and is based in San Francisco (www.gencap.com).
WEX represents more than 7.8 million cardholders and offers payment security and control across a wide spectrum of business sectors. WEX has 0 offices in the US and abroad and employs more than 1,400 associates. The company is headquartered in South Portland, ME (www.wexinc.com).
Deutsche Bank and William Blair & Company acted as financial advisors to Evolution1 and Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted as legal advisor.
2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 6-18-14
