Firms & Funds

Genstar Builds Acrisure Insurance Platform

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  • Genstar’s J. Ryan Clark: ‘We still like the area’
  • Firm is looking at more deals in sector
  • Confie Seguros still building after exit to ABRY

Even after 38 acquisitions to build up Confie Seguros between 2008 and its sale to ABRY in November, Genstar sees more opportunities for add-ons to Acrisure, ranked as the 50th largest privately owned insurance agency in the United States. Genstar announced the Acrisure deal in March as an investment from its vintage 2012 Genstar Capital Partners VI LP fund.

“We still like the area,” J. Ryan Clark, a managing director at Genstar, told Buyouts. “We’re still actively looking at similar businesses.”

Besides brokerages, Genstar is considering insurance technology, claims outsourcing companies and specialty insurance firms. Although valuations for some targets have climbed, Genstar still sees value in the space, Clark said. “We try to find unique opportunities through our network of operating executives and our industry focus.”

After owning Confie Seguros for nearly five years Genstar, “accomplished the original investment goals we had set out” ahead of is exit to ABRY, he said.

Mordy Rothberg, president and co-founder of Confie Seguros, sees more deal-making ahead with his company’s new partner, ABRY. “We think we’re on pace to do more than 30 in the next year,” he said. “Today we’re a company doing $200 million in revenue. This time next year, we’ll be north of $300 million.”

The Hispanic market for insurance remains underserved, even though it Is a fast-growing demographic in the U.S. population, he said.

“We’re in the second inning of the Confie Seguros story,” Rothberg said. “We’re very excited to be partnered with ABRY. They believe in our strategy, they believe in our management, and they have the resources to help us grow to the next level.”

Rothberg, who has worked at publicly traded companies including Net2Phone and IDT Corp, said he’s in no hurry to float an initial public offering of Confie Seguros.

“When you’re public, you manage your business quarter to quarter, while private equity allows you to take a longer term view,” Rothberg said. “I’m a big fan of private equity and a big fan of ABRY. They’ve been great partners and they have the resources to take us from $200 million in revenue to $500 million over the next three to five years.”

ABRY executives did not reply by deadline to an email from Buyouts requesting comment.