Keyhaven Capital Partners (Keyhaven) has secured an equity funding of up to EUR260 million for DARAG, its legacy insurance acquirer, to support growth plans for the business.
Funding has been provided by Crestview Partners (Crestview) via its European partner Aleph Capital Partners (Aleph Capital).
DARAG, a Keyhaven portfolio company, specialises in taking inactive or discontinued (run-off) businesses from direct insurers and reinsurers. The Company has completed 26 transactions across Europe since its inception in 2009.
The new capital commitment follows a period of significant strategic development for DARAG, which has seen it grow substantially in the rapidly expanding European insurance run-off market and advance its plans to develop an effective platform for the build-out of its US operations. Keyhaven also strengthened the management team with the appointment of Stuart Davies as Executive Chairman in 2017 and Tom Booth as Chief Executive Officer with effect from 23rd July 2018.
Stuart Davies, Executive Chairman of DARAG, says: “We have a very clear path to become a leading global legacy insurance business. We have come a long way in Europe already, where we are a market leader, and will now be bringing our expertise to the United States and beyond, where we see substantial demand for skilled legacy acquirers such as DARAG. Aleph and Crestview’s significant investment will support our ambitious expansion targets and their strong track-record in the insurance sector makes them an excellent partner.”
Claus Stenbaek, Managing Partner of Keyhaven Capital, says: “DARAG is a great success story. With the additions of new equity partners, and an outstanding management team, the business has huge momentum to deliver on its mission to be a leading global legacy insurance business. I am delighted that Aleph and Crestview share the same enthusiasm for DARAG and we are looking forward to collaborating closely as we take the business forward.”
Hugues Lepic, Founder and CEO of Aleph, says: “DARAG is on an exciting trajectory in the rapidly expanding and increasingly important legacy segment of the P&C insurance industry. In the coming years we see significant opportunities to drive growth and we are very excited to be partnering with Keyhaven and DARAG’s management team to support the company in this next important phase of its development.”
Richard DeMartini, Partner and Head of Financial Services at Crestview Partners, says: “Crestview is excited to partner with the management team at DARAG as we believe the company has significant growth potential and is well positioned to benefit from the favourable market dynamics for legacy acquirers.”
Completion is subject to regulatory approvals, anticipated to be towards the end of 2018.
