Hellman & Friedman LLC, the San Francisco-based private equity firm, announced today that it has signed a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Vertafore, Inc. (“Vertafore”), a leading provider of specialized software, services and information for the property and casualty insurance industry. Under the agreement, Hellman & Friedman will acquire Windsor, Connecticut-based Vertafore from Trident II and the MMC Capital Technology Fund, which are managed by MMC Capital, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., and other minority investors, including Insight Venture Partners.
Investing alongside Hellman & Friedman will be JMI Equity, a San Diego-based venture capital firm exclusively focused on the software and business service industries. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.
During its thirty-year history, Vertafore has become the management system and information source to over 15,000 independent agencies, 120,000 end-users, and 300 insurance carriers through four principal operating entities: AMS Services, SilverPlume, AMS Rackley, and Allenbrook.
Euan Menzies, Chief Executive Officer of Vertafore, stated, “Our business has grown and prospered during the past several years, and we have enjoyed strong support from MMC Capital and Insight Venture Partners, our principal shareholders. We are delighted to now team up with our new partners, Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity.”
Mr. Menzies continued, “In combination, Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity have a distinguished track record of involvement with not only the software services sector, but also the insurance sector, giving them a unique understanding of the key elements required to make our Company successful. Working with the two new investors, we are confident that we will enjoy a continued stable foundation which will enable us to provide increasing value to our clients via high quality and innovative solutions.”
David Tunnell, Managing Director of Hellman & Friedman stated, “Vertafore is an outstanding, market leading software company. The Company is an ideal fit with our focus of investing in companies with defensible and enduring business franchises, which are underpinned by high levels of client satisfaction.”
Mr. Tunnell continued, “We are also very pleased to be partnering with Euan Menzies and Vertafore’s management in this investment. Our goal is to support this very experienced team in executing their proven plan to drive further growth in the business.”
Hellman & Friedman’s recent investments in the software and information services sector include Blackbaud, Inc. (BLKB) and Mitchell International, Inc. Previous investments in the insurance sector include Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL) and Mid Ocean Limited.
About Vertafore, Inc.
Vertafore is a leading provider of specialized software, services and information for the property and casualty insurance industry, delivering solutions to facilitate independent agent productivity and carrier/agent connectivity. Throughout its three-decade history, the Company has become the management system and information source to over 15,000 independent insurance agencies, 120,000 end-users, and 300 insurance carriers. The four principal operating entities within Vertafore are: AMS Services, which provides software and automation services to insurance agents, brokers, carriers, banks, managing general agencies and other distributors of insurance and financial services; SilverPlume, the insurance industry’s leading aggregator of insurance reference content for risk analysis and underwriting support; AMS Rackley, the nation’s preferred provider of web-based and desktop rating, point-of-sale and new business solutions for carriers, MGAs and independent insurance agents; and Allenbrook, which equips carriers with a policy administration system that eliminates processing redundancy among carriers’ sales, rating, underwriting, accounting and claims professionals. For more information on Vertafore, visit www.vertafore.com.
About Hellman & Friedman LLC
Hellman & Friedman LLC is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with additional offices in New York City and London. Since its founding in 1984, the Firm has raised and managed over $8 billion of committed capital and invested in approximately 50 companies. The Firm’s strategy is to invest in superior business franchises and to be a value-added partner to management in select industries, including media, financial services, professional services and information services. Representative investments in information services include Blackbaud, Inc. (BLKB), Mitchell International, Inc., and National Information Consortium; in insurance include: Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL), and Mid Ocean Limited; and in other areas include: Axel Springer AG (ASV GR), ProSieben Sat.1 AG (PSM GR), Formula One Holdings, Ltd, The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (NDAQ), Mondrian Investment Partners, Young & Rubicam, Inc., and others. For more information on Hellman & Friedman, visit www.hf.com.
About JMI Equity
JMI Equity, based in San Diego and Baltimore, is a private equity firm exclusively focused on investments in the software and business services industries. Founded in 1992, JMI manages approximately $400 million and has invested in nearly 60 companies. JMI invests in growing software and business services companies throughout North America. Representative investments include Blackbaud, Inc. (BLKB), Mitchell International, Unica Corporation, Bindview Development (BVEW), Mission Critical Software, NEON Systems, Inc. (NEON) and Transaction Systems Architects (TSAI). For more information on JMI Equity, visit www.jmi-inc.com.