Dragoneer Investment Group is to acquire New Mountain Capital’s 35 per cent stake in AmWINS in a deal which values the company at approximately USD2.6 billion.
The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) will own 30 per cent and more than 440 AmWINS employee shareholders will own the remaining 35 per cent. Other terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, AmWINS is a specialty insurance broker placing in excess of USD13 billion in premiums through its relationships with more than 20,000 retail brokerage firms and over 1,000 insurance markets.
AmWINS’ expertise covers a wide range of specialty insurance products and services in the property/casualty and group benefits insurance marketplace. It has over 3,900 employees in more than 100 offices located across 12 countries.
“With this transaction, we have achieved yet another phase in building a long-term capital base,” says M Steven DeCarlo, CEO of AmWINS. “Dragoneer’s investment philosophy, deep expertise in the technology industry, and global investment experience, combined with our employee ownership, positions us to be able to focus on our clients and enhances our ability to execute on our 150-year strategic vision. We also want to thank New Mountain for being a great partner over the past four years.”
"We are delighted to meaningfully increase our stake in AmWINS following our initial investment in 2015," says Marc Stad, founder and managing partner of Dragoneer. “I have personally followed AmWINS' success for over 10 years and firmly believe there is tremendous opportunity ahead as technology plays a bigger role in the business and the company expands its independent distribution platform. AmWINS’ exceptional management team and competitive differentiation in the insurance industry align well with our investment philosophy. We look forward to forging a long-term partnership."
The transaction completes the partnership between AmWINS and New Mountain.
“We are very pleased with our investment in AmWINS," says Robert Mulcare, director at New Mountain Capital. "We are fortunate to have had the opportunity to partner with such a unique company, its outstanding management team, and its talented and dedicated employees. During the past four years the value of the company has more than doubled, and we believe the company will continue its tremendous growth and success into the future. We would like to thank the AmWINS team for their partnership.”
“We welcome Dragoneer’s increased investment in AmWINS. Dragoneer shares our vision of providing long-term ownership to AmWINS and we look forward to collaborating with them and AmWINS’ management and employees to support the company’s continued success,” says Guthrie Stewart, senior vice president, global head of private investments at PSP Investments.
Subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close within the next two months. Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson served as legal adviser to AmWINS.
